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Zhao BJ, Song SY, Zhao WM, Xu HB, Peng K, Shan XS, Chen QC, Liu H, Liu HY, Ji FH. The effect of sevoflurane exposure on cell-type-specific changes in the prefrontal cortex in young mice. J Neurochem 2024; 168:1080-1096. [PMID: 38317263 DOI: 10.1111/jnc.16068] [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: 09/25/2023] [Revised: 12/29/2023] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 02/07/2024]
Abstract
Sevoflurane, the predominant pediatric anesthetic, has been linked to neurotoxicity in young mice, although the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This study focuses on investigating the impact of neonatal sevoflurane exposure on cell-type-specific alterations in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of young mice. Neonatal mice were subjected to either control treatment (60% oxygen balanced with nitrogen) or sevoflurane anesthesia (3% sevoflurane in 60% oxygen balanced with nitrogen) for 2 hours on postnatal days (PNDs) 6, 8, and 10. Behavioral tests and single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) of the PFC were conducted from PNDs 31 to 37. Mechanistic exploration included clustering analysis, identification of differentially expressed genes (DEGs), enrichment analyses, single-cell trajectory analysis, and genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Sevoflurane anesthesia resulted in sociability and cognition impairments in mice. Novel specific marker genes identified 8 distinct cell types in the PFC. Most DEGs between the control and sevoflurane groups were unique to specific cell types. Re-defining 15 glutamatergic neuron subclusters based on layer identity revealed their altered expression profiles. Notably, sevoflurane disrupted the trajectory from oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) to oligodendrocytes (OLs). Validation of disease-relevant candidate genes across the main cell types demonstrated their association with social dysfunction and working memory impairment. Behavioral results and snRNA-seq collectively elucidated the cellular atlas in the PFC of young male mice, providing a foundation for further mechanistic studies on developmental neurotoxicity induced by anesthesia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bao-Jian Zhao
- Department of Anesthesiology, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
- Institute of Anesthesiology, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
- Department of Anesthesiology, Nanjing Stomatological Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Shao-Yong Song
- Department of Anesthesiology, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
- Institute of Anesthesiology, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
- Department of Pain Medicine, Dushu Lake Hospital Affiliated of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Wei-Ming Zhao
- Department of Anesthesiology, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
- Institute of Anesthesiology, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Han-Bing Xu
- Department of Anesthesiology, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
- Institute of Anesthesiology, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Ke Peng
- Department of Anesthesiology, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
- Institute of Anesthesiology, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Xi-Sheng Shan
- Department of Anesthesiology, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
- Institute of Anesthesiology, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Qing-Cai Chen
- Department of Anesthesiology, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
- Institute of Anesthesiology, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Hong Liu
- Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of California Davis Health, Sacramento, California, USA
| | - Hua-Yue Liu
- Department of Anesthesiology, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
- Institute of Anesthesiology, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
- Ambulatory Surgery Center, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Fu-Hai Ji
- Department of Anesthesiology, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
- Institute of Anesthesiology, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
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Alex AM, Buss C, Davis EP, Campos GDL, Donald KA, Fair DA, Gaab N, Gao W, Gilmore JH, Girault JB, Grewen K, Groenewold NA, Hankin BL, Ipser J, Kapoor S, Kim P, Lin W, Luo S, Norton ES, O'Connor TG, Piven J, Qiu A, Rasmussen JM, Skeide MA, Stein DJ, Styner MA, Thompson PM, Wakschlag L, Knickmeyer R. Genetic Influences on the Developing Young Brain and Risk for Neuropsychiatric Disorders. Biol Psychiatry 2023; 93:905-920. [PMID: 36932005 PMCID: PMC10136952 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2023.01.013] [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: 07/15/2022] [Revised: 01/09/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Imaging genetics provides an opportunity to discern associations between genetic variants and brain imaging phenotypes. Historically, the field has focused on adults and adolescents; very few imaging genetics studies have focused on brain development in infancy and early childhood (from birth to age 6 years). This is an important knowledge gap because developmental changes in the brain during the prenatal and early postnatal period are regulated by dynamic gene expression patterns that likely play an important role in establishing an individual's risk for later psychiatric illness and neurodevelopmental disabilities. In this review, we summarize findings from imaging genetics studies spanning from early infancy to early childhood, with a focus on studies examining genetic risk for neuropsychiatric disorders. We also introduce the Organization for Imaging Genomics in Infancy (ORIGINs), a working group of the ENIGMA (Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis) consortium, which was established to facilitate large-scale imaging genetics studies in infancy and early childhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ann M Alex
- Institute for Quantitative Health Sciences and Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
| | - Claudia Buss
- Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Department of Medical Psychology, Berlin, Germany; Department of Pediatrics, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California; Development, Health and Disease Research Program, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California
| | - Elysia Poggi Davis
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California; Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, Colorado
| | - Gustavo de Los Campos
- Institute for Quantitative Health Sciences and Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan; Departments of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan; Department of Statistics & Probability, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
| | - Kirsten A Donald
- Division of Developmental Paediatrics, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Damien A Fair
- Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Institute of Child Development, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota
| | - Nadine Gaab
- Harvard Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Wei Gao
- Cedars-Sinai Biomedical Imaging Research Institute, Los Angeles, California; Departments of Biomedical Sciences and Imaging, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California
| | - John H Gilmore
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Jessica B Girault
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Carrboro, North Carolina
| | - Karen Grewen
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Nynke A Groenewold
- Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; South African Medical Research Council Unit on Child and Adolescent Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Cape Town, Faculty of Health Sciences, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Benjamin L Hankin
- Psychology Department, University of Illinois Urbana,-Champaign, Illinois
| | - Jonathan Ipser
- Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Shreya Kapoor
- Research Group Learning in Early Childhood, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Pilyoung Kim
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, Colorado
| | - Weili Lin
- Department of Radiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Shan Luo
- Department of Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California; Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California; Center for Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| | - Elizabeth S Norton
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois; Department of Medical Social Sciences and Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Thomas G O'Connor
- Departments of Psychiatry, Psychology, Neuroscience, Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York
| | - Joseph Piven
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Carrboro, North Carolina
| | - Anqi Qiu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore; NUS (Suzhou) Research Institute, National University of Singapore, China; the Institute for Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore; School of Computer Engineering and Science, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China; Institute of Data Science, National University of Singapore, Singapore; Department of Biomedical Engineering, the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Jerod M Rasmussen
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California; Development, Health and Disease Research Program, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California
| | - Michael A Skeide
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Research Group Learning in Early Childhood, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Dan J Stein
- South African Medical Research Council Unit on Risk and Resilience in Mental Disorders, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Martin A Styner
- Department of Computer Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Paul M Thompson
- Imaging Genetics Center, Stevens Neuroimaging & Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine of University of the Sunshine Coast, Marina del Rey, California
| | - Laurie Wakschlag
- Department of Medical Social Sciences and Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Rebecca Knickmeyer
- Institute for Quantitative Health Sciences and Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan; Department of Pediatrics and Human Development, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan.
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Mallard TT, Grotzinger AD, Smoller JW. Examining the shared etiology of psychopathology with genome-wide association studies. Physiol Rev 2023; 103:1645-1665. [PMID: 36634217 PMCID: PMC9988537 DOI: 10.1152/physrev.00016.2022] [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: 05/26/2022] [Revised: 12/19/2022] [Accepted: 01/03/2023] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have ushered in a new era of reproducible discovery in psychiatric genetics. The field has now identified hundreds of common genetic variants that are associated with mental disorders, and many of them influence more than one disorder. By advancing the understanding of causal biology underlying psychopathology, GWAS results are poised to inform the development of novel therapeutics, stratification of at-risk patients, and perhaps even the revision of top-down classification systems in psychiatry. Here, we provide a concise review of GWAS findings with an emphasis on findings that have elucidated the shared genetic etiology of psychopathology, summarizing insights at three levels of analysis: 1) genome-wide architecture; 2) networks, pathways, and gene sets; and 3) individual variants/genes. Three themes emerge from these efforts. First, all psychiatric phenotypes are heritable, highly polygenic, and influenced by many pleiotropic variants with incomplete penetrance. Second, GWAS results highlight the broad etiological roles of neuronal biology, system-wide effects over localized effects, and early neurodevelopment as a critical period. Third, many loci that are robustly associated with multiple forms of psychopathology harbor genes that are involved in synaptic structure and function. Finally, we conclude our review by discussing the implications that GWAS results hold for the field of psychiatry, as well as expected challenges and future directions in the next stage of psychiatric genetics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Travis T Mallard
- Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit, Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
| | - Andrew D Grotzinger
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, United States
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, United States
| | - Jordan W Smoller
- Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit, Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
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Silveira PP, Meaney MJ. Examining the biological mechanisms of human mental disorders resulting from gene-environment interdependence using novel functional genomic approaches. Neurobiol Dis 2023; 178:106008. [PMID: 36690304 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2023.106008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2022] [Revised: 12/30/2022] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
We explore how functional genomics approaches that integrate datasets from human and non-human model systems can improve our understanding of the effect of gene-environment interplay on the risk for mental disorders. We start by briefly defining the G-E paradigm and its challenges and then discuss the different levels of regulation of gene expression and the corresponding data existing in humans (genome wide genotyping, transcriptomics, DNA methylation, chromatin modifications, chromosome conformational changes, non-coding RNAs, proteomics and metabolomics), discussing novel approaches to the application of these data in the study of the origins of mental health. Finally, we discuss the multilevel integration of diverse types of data. Advance in the use of functional genomics in the context of a G-E perspective improves the detection of vulnerabilities, informing the development of preventive and therapeutic interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrícia Pelufo Silveira
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada; Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics and Mental Health, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
| | - Michael J Meaney
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada; Translational Neuroscience Program, Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (ASTAR), Singapore; Brain - Body Initiative, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (ASTAR), Singapore.
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5
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Restrepo-Lozano JM, Pokhvisneva I, Wang Z, Patel S, Meaney MJ, Silveira PP, Flores C. Corticolimbic DCC gene co-expression networks as predictors of impulsivity in children. Mol Psychiatry 2022; 27:2742-2750. [PMID: 35388180 PMCID: PMC9156406 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-022-01533-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2021] [Revised: 03/04/2022] [Accepted: 03/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Inhibitory control deficits are prevalent in multiple neuropsychiatric conditions. The communication- as well as the connectivity- between corticolimbic regions of the brain are fundamental for eliciting inhibitory control behaviors, but early markers of vulnerability to this behavioral trait are yet to be discovered. The gradual maturation of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), in particular of the mesocortical dopamine innervation, mirrors the protracted development of inhibitory control; both are present early in life, but reach full maturation by early adulthood. Evidence suggests the involvement of the Netrin-1/DCC signaling pathway and its associated gene networks in corticolimbic development. Here we investigated whether an expression-based polygenic score (ePRS) based on corticolimbic-specific DCC gene co-expression networks associates with impulsivity-related phenotypes in community samples of children. We found that lower ePRS scores associate with higher measurements of impulsive choice in 6-year-old children tested in the Information Sampling Task and with impulsive action in 6- and 10-year-old children tested in the Stop Signal Task. We also found the ePRS to be a better overall predictor of impulsivity when compared to a conventional PRS score comparable in size to the ePRS (4515 SNPs in our discovery cohort) and derived from the latest GWAS for ADHD. We propose that the corticolimbic DCC-ePRS can serve as a novel type of marker for impulsivity-related phenotypes in children. By adopting a systems biology approach based on gene co-expression networks and genotype-gene expression (rather than genotype-disease) associations, these results further validate our methodology to construct polygenic scores linked to the overall biological function of tissue-specific gene networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jose M. Restrepo-Lozano
- grid.14709.3b0000 0004 1936 8649Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montreal, QC Canada ,grid.412078.80000 0001 2353 5268Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, QC Canada
| | - Irina Pokhvisneva
- grid.412078.80000 0001 2353 5268Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, QC Canada ,grid.14709.3b0000 0004 1936 8649Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics & Mental Health, McGill University, Montreal, QC Canada
| | - Zihan Wang
- grid.412078.80000 0001 2353 5268Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, QC Canada ,grid.14709.3b0000 0004 1936 8649Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics & Mental Health, McGill University, Montreal, QC Canada
| | - Sachin Patel
- grid.412078.80000 0001 2353 5268Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, QC Canada ,grid.14709.3b0000 0004 1936 8649Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics & Mental Health, McGill University, Montreal, QC Canada
| | - Michael J. Meaney
- grid.412078.80000 0001 2353 5268Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, QC Canada ,grid.14709.3b0000 0004 1936 8649Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics & Mental Health, McGill University, Montreal, QC Canada ,grid.14709.3b0000 0004 1936 8649Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC Canada ,grid.14709.3b0000 0004 1936 8649Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC Canada ,grid.452264.30000 0004 0530 269XSingapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Brenner Centre for Molecular Medicine, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Patricia P. Silveira
- grid.412078.80000 0001 2353 5268Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, QC Canada ,grid.14709.3b0000 0004 1936 8649Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics & Mental Health, McGill University, Montreal, QC Canada ,grid.14709.3b0000 0004 1936 8649Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC Canada
| | - Cecilia Flores
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada. .,Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada. .,Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
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MicroRNA regulation of prefrontal cortex development and psychiatric risk in adolescence. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2021; 118:83-91. [PMID: 33933350 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2021.04.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2021] [Revised: 04/08/2021] [Accepted: 04/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
In this review, we examine the role of microRNAs in the development of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in adolescence and in individual differences in vulnerability to mental illness. We describe results from clinical and preclinical research indicating that adolescence coincides with drastic changes in local microRNA expression, including microRNAs that control gene networks involved in PFC and cognitive refinement. We highlight that altered levels of microRNAs in the PFC are associated with psychopathologies of adolescent onset, notably depression and schizophrenia. We show that microRNAs can be measured non-invasively in peripheral samples and could serve as longitudinal physiological readouts of brain expression and psychiatric risk in youth.
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Vassilev P, Pantoja-Urban AH, Giroux M, Nouel D, Hernandez G, Orsini T, Flores C. Unique effects of social defeat stress in adolescent male mice on the Netrin-1/DCC pathway, prefrontal cortex dopamine and cognition (Social stress in adolescent vs. adult male mice). eNeuro 2021; 8:ENEURO.0045-21.2021. [PMID: 33619036 PMCID: PMC8051112 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0045-21.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2021] [Accepted: 02/03/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
For some individuals, social stress is a risk factor for psychiatric disorders characterised by adolescent onset, prefrontal cortex (PFC) dysfunction and cognitive impairments. Social stress may be particularly harmful during adolescence when dopamine (DA) axons are still growing to the PFC, rendering them sensitive to environmental influences. The guidance cue Netrin-1 and its receptor, DCC, coordinate to control mesocorticolimbic DA axon targeting and growth during this age. Here we adapted the accelerated social defeat (AcSD) paradigm to expose male mice to social stress in either adolescence or adulthood and categorised them as "resilient" or "susceptible" based on social avoidance behaviour. We examined whether stress would alter the expression of DCC and Netrin-1 in mesolimbic dopamine regions and would have enduring consequences on PFC dopamine connectivity and cognition. While in adolescence the majority of mice are resilient but exhibit risk-taking behaviour, AcSD in adulthood leads to a majority of susceptible mice without altering anxiety-like traits. In adolescent, but not adult mice, AcSD dysregulates DCC and Netrin-1 expression in mesolimbic DA regions. These molecular changes in adolescent mice are accompanied by changes in PFC DA connectivity. Following AcSD in adulthood, cognitive function remains unaffected, but all mice exposed to AcSD in adolescence show deficits in inhibitory control when they reach adulthood. These findings indicate that exposure to AcSD in adolescence vs. adulthood has substantially different effects on brain and behaviour and that stress-induced social avoidance in adolescence does not predict vulnerability to deficits in cognitive performance.Significance statement During adolescence, dopamine circuitries undergo maturational changes which may render them particularly vulnerable to social stress. While social stress can be detrimental to adolescents and adults, it may engage different mechanisms and impact different domains, depending on age. The accelerated social defeat (AcSD) model implemented here allows exposing adolescent and adult male mice to comparable social stress levels. AcSD in adulthood leads to a majority of socially avoidant mice. However, the predominance of AcSD-exposed adolescent mice does not develop social avoidance, and these resilient mice show risk-taking behaviour. Nonetheless, in adolescence only, AcSD dysregulates Netrin-1/DCC expression in mesolimbic dopamine regions, possibly disrupting mesocortical dopamine and cognition. The unique adolescent responsiveness to stress may explain increased psychopathology risk at this age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip Vassilev
- Department of Psychiatry and Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | | | - Michel Giroux
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Dominique Nouel
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | | | - Taylor Orsini
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Cecilia Flores
- Department of Psychiatry and Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada.
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada
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