Ketamine-induced deficit of auditory gating in the hippocampus of rats is alleviated by medial septal inactivation and antipsychotic drugs

Alterations of auditory sensory gating in mice with noise-induced tinnitus treated with nicotine and cannabis extract

Tinnitus is a phantom sound perception affecting both auditory and limbic structures. The mechanisms of tinnitus remain unclear and it is debatable whether tinnitus alters attention to sound and the ability to inhibit repetitive sounds, a phenomenon also known as auditory gating. Here we investigate if noise exposure interferes with auditory gating and whether natural extracts of cannabis or nicotine could improve auditory pre-attentional processing in noise-exposed mice. We used 22 male C57BL/6J mice divided into noise-exposed (exposed to a 9-11 kHz narrow band noise for 1 h) and sham (no sound during noise exposure) groups. Hearing thresholds were measured using auditory brainstem responses, and tinnitus-like behavior was assessed using Gap prepulse inhibition of acoustic startle. After noise exposure, mice were implanted with multi-electrodes in the dorsal hippocampus to assess auditory event-related potentials in response to paired clicks. The results showed that mice with tinnitus-like behavior displayed auditory gating of repetitive clicks, but with larger amplitudes and longer latencies of the N40 component of the aERP waveform. The combination of cannabis extract and nicotine improved the auditory gating ratio in noise-exposed mice without permanent hearing threshold shifts. Lastly, the longer latency of the N40 component appears due to an increased sensitivity to cannabis extract in noise-exposed mice compared to sham mice. The study suggests that the altered central plasticity in tinnitus is more sensitive to the combined actions on the cholinergic and the endocannabinoid systems. Overall, the findings contribute to a better understanding of pharmacological modulation of auditory sensory gating.

Medial Septum Modulates Consciousness and Psychosis-Related Behaviors Through Hippocampal Gamma Activity

Abnormally high-amplitude hippocampal gamma activity (30–100 Hz) in behaving animals is seen after a hippocampal seizure, following injection of phencyclidine (PCP) or ketamine, and transiently in a delirium stage during induction of general anesthesia. High-amplitude hippocampal gamma activity in behaving rats is associated with hyperactive behavior and impairment in sensorimotor gating and sensory gating. The medial septum is necessary for the high-amplitude gamma activity and abnormal behaviors observed following a hippocampal seizure or injection of PCP/ketamine. Glutamatergic projection of the hippocampus to the nucleus accumbens (NAC) and dopaminergic transmission in NAC is necessary for abnormal behaviors. Large hippocampal gamma waves are suggested to contribute to seizure-induced automatism following temporal lobe seizures, and the schizophrenia-like symptoms induced by PCP/ketamine. Low-amplitude gamma activity is found during general anesthesia, associated with loss of consciousness in humans and loss of righting reflex in animals. Local inactivation or lesion of the medial septum, NAC, and brain areas connected to the septohippocampal-NAC system attenuates the increase in hippocampal gamma and associated behavioral disruptions induced by hippocampal seizure or PCP/ketamine. Inactivation or lesion of the septohippocampal-NAC system decreases the dose of anesthetic necessary for gamma decrease and loss of consciousness in animals. Thus, it is proposed that the septohippocampal-NAC system serves to control consciousness and the behavioral hyperactivity and neural dysfunctions during psychosis.

The Consciousness of Pain: A Thalamocortical Perspective

Deep, dreamless sleep is considered the only “normal” state under which consciousness is lost. The main reason for the voluntary, external induction of an unconscious state, via general anesthesia, is to silence the brain circuitry of nociception. In this article, I describe the perception of pain as a neural and behavioral correlate of consciousness. I briefly mention the brain areas and parameters that are connected to the presence of consciousness, mainly by virtue of their absence under deep anesthesia, and parallel those to brain areas responsible for the perception of pain. Activity in certain parts of the cortex and thalamus, and the interaction between them, will be the main focus of discussion as they represent a common ground that connects our general conscious state and our ability to sense the environment around us, including the painful stimuli. A plethora of correlative and causal evidence has been described thus far to explain the brain’s involvement in consciousness and nociception. Despite the great advancement in our current knowledge, the manifestation and true nature of the perception of pain, or any conscious experience, are far from being fully understood.

The Medial Septum as a Potential Target for Treating Brain Disorders Associated With Oscillopathies

The medial septum (MS), as part of the basal forebrain, supports many physiological functions, from sensorimotor integration to cognition. With often reciprocal connections with a broad set of peers at all major divisions of the brain, the MS orchestrates oscillatory neuronal activities throughout the brain. These oscillations are critical in generating sensory and emotional salience, locomotion, maintaining mood, supporting innate anxiety, and governing learning and memory. Accumulating evidence points out that the physiological oscillations under septal influence are frequently disrupted or altered in pathological conditions. Therefore, the MS may be a potential target for treating neurological and psychiatric disorders with abnormal oscillations (oscillopathies) to restore healthy patterns or erase undesired ones. Recent studies have revealed that the patterned stimulation of the MS alleviates symptoms of epilepsy. We discuss here that stimulus timing is a critical determinant of treatment efficacy on multiple time scales. On-demand stimulation may dramatically reduce side effects by not interfering with normal physiological functions. A precise pattern-matched stimulation through adaptive timing governed by the ongoing oscillations is essential to effectively terminate pathological oscillations. The time-targeted strategy for the MS stimulation may provide an effective way of treating multiple disorders including Alzheimer's disease, anxiety/fear, schizophrenia, and depression, as well as pain.

Medial septum modulates hippocampal gamma activity and prepulse inhibition in an N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor antagonist model of schizophrenia

We reviewed the participation of the septohippocampal system in an animal model of schizophrenia that was acutely induced by systemic injection of an N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist such as phencyclidine, MK-801 and ketamine. The NMDA receptor antagonist-induced model of schizophrenia is characterized by behavioral and electrophysiological disruptions, including a decrease in prepulse inhibition of the acoustic startle response (PPI), hyperlocomotion, decrease in gating of hippocampal auditory evoked potentials and robust increase in hippocampal gamma (30-100Hz) oscillations. Similar disruptions were also induced by a single electrographic seizure in the hippocampus. The behavioral and electrophysiological disruptions induced by an NMDA receptor antagonist can be reduced by inactivation or lesion of GABAergic neurons in the medial septum, deep brain stimulation of the medial septum or nucleus accumbens, or positive modulation of GABA_B receptors. Our results suggest a close association between high-amplitude hippocampal gamma oscillations and psychosis-relevant behaviors including PPI loss, behavioral hyperactivity and loss in auditory gating. Abnormal electrophysiology suggests a disruption of somatic and apical dendritic inhibition in the hippocampus, resulting in distorted sensory integration, and impaired cognitive and memory processing. The hippocampus is suggested to be a hub in a brain network that participates in psychosis-relevant behaviors, through its direct projection to the nucleus accumbens, or through indirect connections via the entorhinal, cingulate and prefrontal cortices.

Involvement of posterior cingulate cortex in ketamine-induced psychosis relevant behaviors in rats

The involvement of posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) on ketamine-induced psychosis relevant behaviors was investigated in rats. Bilateral infusion of muscimol, a GABA_A receptor agonist, into the PCC significantly antagonized ketamine-induced deficit in prepulse inhibition of a startle reflex (PPI), deficit in gating of hippocampal auditory evoked potentials, and behavioral hyperlocomotion in a dose dependent manner. Local infusion of ketamine directly into the PCC also induced a PPI deficit. Systemic injection of ketamine (3mg/kg,s.c.) induced an increase in power of electrographic activity in the gamma band (30-100Hz) in both the PCC and the hippocampus; peak theta (4-10Hz) power was not significantly altered, but peak theta frequency was increased by ketamine. In order to exclude volume conduction from the hippocampus to PCC, inactivation of the hippocampus was made by local infusion of muscimol into the hippocampus prior to ketamine administration. Muscimol in the hippocampus effectively blocked ketamine-induced increase of gamma power in the hippocampus but not in the PCC, suggesting independent generation of gamma waves in PCC and hippocampus. It is suggested that the PCC is part of the brain network mediating ketamine-induced psychosis related behaviors.

Effects of GABA-B receptor positive modulator on ketamine-induced psychosis-relevant behaviors and hippocampal electrical activity in freely moving rats

RATIONALE

Decreased GABA_B receptor function is proposed to mediate some symptoms of schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVES

In this study, we tested the effect of CGP7930, a GABA_B receptor positive allosteric modulator, on ketamine-induced psychosis-relevant behaviors and hippocampal electrical activity in behaving rats.

METHODS

Electrodes were bilaterally implanted into the hippocampus, and cannulae were placed into the lateral ventricles of Long-Evans rats. CGP7930 or vehicle was injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) or intracerebroventricularly (i.c.v.), alone or 15 min prior to ketamine (3 mg/kg, subcutaneous) injection. Paired click auditory evoked potentials in the hippocampus (AEP), prepulse inhibition (PPI), and locomotor activity were recorded before and after drug injection.

RESULTS

CGP7930 at doses of 1 mg/kg (i.p.) prevented ketamine-induced deficit of PPI. CGP7930 (1 mg/kg i.p.) also prevented the decrease in gating of hippocampal AEP and the increase in hippocampal gamma (65-100 Hz) waves induced by ketamine. Unilateral i.c.v. infusion of CGP7930 (0.3 mM/1 μL) also prevented the decrease in gating of hippocampal AEP induced by ketamine. Ketamine-induced behavioral hyperlocomotion was suppressed by 5 mg/kg i.p. CGP7930. CGP7930 alone, without ketamine, did not significantly affect integrated PPI, locomotion, gating of hippocampal AEP, or gamma waves. CGP7930 (1 mg/kg i.p.) increased heterosynaptically mediated paired pulse depression in the hippocampus, a measure of GABA_B receptor function in vivo.

CONCLUSIONS

CGP7930 reduces the behavioral and electrophysiological disruptions induced by ketamine in animals, and the hippocampus may be one of the neural targets where CGP7930 exerts its actions.

Pharmaco-EEG Studies in Animals: An Overview of Contemporary Translational Applications

The contemporary value of animal pharmaco-electroencephalography (p-EEG)-based applications are strongly interlinked with progress in recording and neuroscience analysis methodology. While p-EEG in humans and animals has been shown to be closely related in terms of underlying neuronal substrates, both translational and back-translational approaches are being used to address extrapolation issues and optimize the translational validity of preclinical animal p-EEG paradigms and data. Present applications build further on animal p-EEG and pharmaco-sleep EEG findings, but also on stimulation protocols, more specifically pharmaco-event-related potentials. Pharmaceutical research into novel treatments for neurological and psychiatric diseases has employed an increasing number of pharmacological as well as transgenic models to assess the potential therapeutic involvement of different neurochemical systems and novel drug targets as well as underlying neuronal connectivity and synaptic function. Consequently, p-EEG studies, now also readily applied in modeled animals, continue to have an important role in drug discovery and development, with progressively more emphasis on its potential as a central readout for target engagement and as a (translational) functional marker of neuronal circuit processes underlying normal and pathological brain functioning. In a similar vein as was done for human p-EEG studies, the contribution of animal p-EEG studies can further benefit by adherence to guidelines for methodological standardization, which are presently under construction by the International Pharmaco-EEG Society (IPEG).

Dual Effects of Limbic Seizures on Psychosis-Relevant Behaviors Shown by Nucleus Accumbens Kindling in Rats

BACKGROUND

A paradox in epilepsy and psychiatry is that temporal lobe epilepsy is often predisposed to schizophrenic-like psychosis, whereas convulsive therapy can relieve schizophrenic symptoms. We have previously demonstrated that the nucleus accumbens is a key structure in mediating postictal psychosis induced by a hippocampal electrographic seizure.

OBJECTIVE/HYPOTHESIS

The purpose of this study is to test a hypothesis that accumbens kindling cumulating in a single (1-time) or repeated (5-times) convulsive seizures have different effects on animal models of psychosis.

METHODS

Electrical stimulation at 60 Hz was applied to nucleus accumbens to evoke afterdischarges until one, or five, convulsive seizures that involved the hind limbs (stage 5 seizures) were attained. Behavioral tests, performed at 3 days after the last seizure, included gating of hippocampal auditory evoked potentials (AEP) and prepulse inhibition to an acoustic startle response (PPI), tested without drug injection or after ketamine (3 mg/kg s.c.) injection, as well as locomotion induced by ketamine or methamphetamine (1 mg/kg i.p.).

RESULTS

Compared to non-kindled control rats, 1-time, but not 5-times, convulsive seizures induced PPI deficit and decreased gating of hippocampal AEP, without drug injection. Compared to non-kindled rats, 5-times, but not 1-time, convulsive seizures antagonized ketamine-induced hyperlocomotion, ketamine-induced PPI deficit and AEP gating decrease. However, both 1- and 5-times convulsive seizures significantly enhanced methamphetamine-induced locomotion as compared to non-kindled rats.

CONCLUSIONS

Accumbens kindling ending with 1 convulsive seizure may induce schizophrenic-like behaviors, while repeated (≥5) convulsive seizures induced by accumbens kindling may have therapeutic effects on dopamine independent psychosis.

Effects of hippocampal partial kindling on sensory and sensorimotor gating and methamphetamine-induced locomotion in kindling-prone and kindling-resistant rats

The effects of hippocampal partial kindling on gating of hippocampal auditory-evoked potentials (AEPs), prepulse inhibition (PPI) to an acoustic startle response, and methamphetamine-induced locomotion were examined in selectively bred kindling-prone (Fast) and kindling-resistant (Slow) rats. Ten electrographic seizures (afterdischarges, ADs) induced by high-frequency stimulation of the hippocampal CA1 region resulted in deficits in gating of hippocampal AEP and PPI in Fast, but not Slow, rats. The increase in AD duration with kindling was similar in Fast and Slow rats. Kindling-induced changes in hippocampal AEP and PPI in Fast rats were abolished by pretest injection of CGP7930 (1mg/kg i.p.), a positive allosteric modulator of GABAB receptors. Injection of haloperidol (0.1mg/kg i.p.) daily before kindling also prevented kindling-induced changes in PPI and hippocampal AEP in Fast rats. Interestingly, methamphetamine-induced hyperlocomotion was enhanced by kindling in Slow, but not Fast, rats. However, the methamphetamine-induced hyperlocomotion in Slow rats was not suppressed by daily injection of 0.1mg/kg i.p. haloperidol before kindling, as compared with kindling without haloperidol. It is concluded that genetic disposition affected the behavioral consequences of repeated seizures. Fast rats required fewer hippocampal ADs to induce sensory (AEP) and sensorimotor (PPI) deficits, while Slow kindled rats were more sensitive to methamphetamine-induced locomotion. Dopaminergic blockade by haloperidol during kindling, or acute injection of CGP7930 before testing, attenuated some of the behavioral deficits induced by repeated hippocampal seizures, suggesting possible therapeutic strategies to treat the schizophrenic-like symptoms associated with temporal lobe epilepsy.

Comparing Pharmacological Modulation of Sensory Gating in Healthy Humans and Rats: The Effects of Reboxetine and Haloperidol

Sensory gating is the brain's ability to filter out irrelevant information before it reaches high levels of conscious processing. In the current study we aimed to investigate the involvement of the noradrenergic and dopaminergic neurotransmitter systems in sensory gating. Furthermore, we investigated cross-species reliability by comparing effects in both healthy humans and rats, while keeping all experimental conditions as similar as possible between the species. The design of the human experiment (n=21) was a double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study where sensory gating was assessed following a dose of either reboxetine (8 mg), haloperidol (2 mg), their combination or placebo at four separate visits. Similarly in the animal experiment sensory gating was assessed in rats, (n=22) following a dose of reboxetine (2 mg/kg), haloperidol (0.08 mg/kg), their combination or placebo. The sensory gating paradigms in both experiments were identical. In humans, we found significantly reduced P50 suppression following separate administration of reboxetine or haloperidol, while their combined administration did not reach statistical significance compared with placebo. In the rats, we found a similar significant reduction of sensory gating (N40) following treatment with haloperidol and the combination of haloperidol and reboxetine, but not with separate reboxetine treatment, compared with placebo. Our study indicates that even when experimental conditions are kept as similar as possible, direct human to rat cross-species translation of pharmacological effects on sensory gating is challenging, which calls for more focussed research in this important translational area.

Brain areas that influence general anesthesia

This document reviews the literature on local brain manipulation of general anesthesia in animals, focusing on behavioral and electrographic effects related to hypnosis or loss of consciousness. Local inactivation or lesion of wake-active areas, such as locus coeruleus, dorsal raphe, pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus, perifornical area, tuberomammillary nucleus, ventral tegmental area and basal forebrain, enhanced general anesthesia. Anesthesia enhancement was shown as a delayed emergence (recovery of righting reflex) from anesthesia or a decrease in the minimal alveolar concentration that induced loss of righting. Local activation of various wake-active areas, including pontis oralis and centromedial thalamus, promoted behavioral or electrographic arousal during maintained anesthesia and facilitated emergence. Lesion of the sleep-active ventrolateral preoptic area resulted in increased wakefulness and decreased isoflurane sensitivity, but only for 6 days after lesion. Inactivation of any structure within limbic circuits involving the medial septum, hippocampus, nucleus accumbens, ventral pallidum, and ventral tegmental area, amygdala, entorhinal and piriform cortex delayed emergence from anesthesia, and often reduced anesthetic-induced behavioral excitation. In summary, the concept that anesthesia works on the sleep-wake system has received strong support from studies that inactivated/lesioned or activated wake-active areas, and weak support from studies that lesioned sleep-active areas. In addition to the conventional wake-sleep areas, limbic structures such as the medial septum, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex are also involved in the behavioral response to general anesthesia. We suggest that hypnosis during general anesthesia may result from disrupting the wake-active neuronal activities in multiple areas and suppressing an atropine-resistant cortical activation associated with movements.

Deep brain stimulation of the medial septum or nucleus accumbens alleviates psychosis-relevant behavior in ketamine-treated rats

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been shown to be effective for relief of Parkinson's disease, depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder in humans, but the effect of DBS on psychosis is largely unknown. In previous studies, we showed that inactivation of the medial septum or nucleus accumbens normalized the hyperactive and psychosis-related behaviors induced by psychoactive drugs. We hypothesized that DBS of the medial septum or nucleus accumbens normalizes the ketamine-induced abnormal behaviors and brain activity in freely moving rats. Male Long-Evans rats were subcutaneously injected with ketamine (3 mg/kg) alone, or given ketamine and DBS, or injected with saline alone. Subcutaneous injection of ketamine resulted in loss of gating of hippocampal auditory evoked potentials (AEPs), deficit in prepulse inhibition (PPI) and hyperlocomotion, accompanied by increased hippocampal gamma oscillations of 70-100 Hz. Continuous 130-Hz stimulation of the nucleus accumbens, or 100-Hz burst stimulation of the medial septum (1s on and 5s off) significantly attenuated ketamine-induced PPI deficit and hyperlocomotion. Medial septal stimulation also prevented the loss of gating of hippocampal AEPs and the increase in hippocampal gamma waves induced by ketamine. Neither septal or accumbens DBS alone without ketamine injection affected spontaneous locomotion or PPI. The results suggest that DBS of the medial septum or nucleus accumbens may be an effective method to alleviate psychiatric symptoms of schizophrenia. The effect of medial septal DBS in suppressing both hippocampal gamma oscillations and abnormal behaviors induced by ketamine suggests that hippocampal gamma oscillations are a correlate of disrupted behaviors.

Septohippocampal GABAergic neurons mediate the altered behaviors induced by n-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonists

We hypothesize that selective lesion of the septohippocampal GABAergic neurons suppresses the altered behaviors induced by an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, ketamine or MK-801. In addition, we hypothesize that septohippocampal GABAergic neurons generate an atropine-resistant theta rhythm that coexists with an atropine-sensitive theta rhythm in the hippocampus. Infusion of orexin-saporin (ore-SAP) into the medial septal area decreased parvalbumin-immunoreactive (GABAergic) neurons by ~80%, without significantly affecting choline-acetyltransferase-immunoreactive (cholinergic) neurons. The theta rhythm during walking, or the immobility-associated theta induced by pilocarpine, was not different between ore-SAP and sham-lesion rats. Walking theta was, however, more disrupted by atropine sulfate in ore-SAP than in sham-lesion rats. MK-801 (0.5 mg/kg i.p.) induced hyperlocomotion associated with an increase in frequency, but not power, of the hippocampal theta in both ore-SAP and sham-lesion rats. However, MK-801 induced an increase in 71-100 Hz gamma waves in sham-lesion but not ore-SAP lesion rats. In sham-lesion rats, MK-801 induced an increase in locomotion and an impairment of prepulse inhibition (PPI), and ketamine (3 mg/kg s.c.) induced a loss of gating of hippocampal auditory evoked potentials. MK-801-induced behavioral hyperlocomotion and PPI impairment, and ketamine-induced auditory gating deficit were reduced in ore-SAP rats as compared to sham-lesion rats. During baseline without drugs, locomotion and auditory gating were not different between ore-SAP and sham-lesion rats, and PPI was slightly but significantly increased in ore-SAP as compared with sham lesion rats. It is concluded that septohippocampal GABAergic neurons are important for the expression of hyperactive and psychotic symptoms an enhanced hippocampal gamma activity induced by ketamine and MK-801, and for generating an atropine-resistant theta. Selective suppression of septohippocampal GABAergic activity is suggested to be an effective treatment of some symptoms of schizophrenia.

GABA(B) receptor blockade in the hippocampus affects sensory and sensorimotor gating in Long-Evans rats

RATIONALE

Sensory and sensorimotor gating deficits are observed in schizophrenia. GABA(B) receptor deficiency is also detected in the hippocampus of schizophrenic patients.

OBJECTIVES

The present study tested the hypothesis that GABA(B) receptors in the hippocampus contribute to paired-pulse gating of hippocampal auditory-evoked potentials (AEP) and auditory prepulse inhibition (PPI) in Long-Evans rats.

METHODS

Gating of hippocampal AEP, or PPI, was examined before and after administration of GABA(B) receptor antagonist, CGP56999A or CGP35348, or saline was administered either systemically (intra-peritoneally (i.p.)) or infused bilaterally into the hippocampus 15 min before gating measurements.

RESULTS

Systemic injection of CGP56999A, at a dose of 0.2 and 0.4 mg/kg i.p. resulted in reduced gating of hippocampal AEP in a dose-dependent manner. Reduced gating was found at conditioning-test interpulse intervals of 300-500 ms, but not 100-200 ms. Reduced gating of hippocampal AEP also followed bilateral infusion of CGP56999A into the hippocampus (0.1 μg/μL/side). Gating loss was attributed to a decreased conditioning response and an increased test response after systemic or local injection of CGP56999A. Robust PPI was found at prepulse-pulse intervals of 30-100 ms, and this PPI was reduced by hippocampal infusion of CGP56999A in a dose-dependent manner, as compared with saline infusion.

CONCLUSIONS

Blockade of hippocampal GABA(B) receptors led to deficits in sensory and sensorimotor gating, which are symptoms of schizophrenia.