1
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Yavas E, Zhuravka I, Fanselow MS. PAC1 receptor modulation of freezing and flight behavior in periaqueductal gray. Genes Brain Behav 2023; 22:e12873. [PMID: 37983568 PMCID: PMC10733566 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12873] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2023] [Revised: 11/05/2023] [Accepted: 11/05/2023] [Indexed: 11/22/2023]
Abstract
The midbrain periaqueductal gray (PAG) region is a critical anatomical regulator of fear-related species-specific defensive reactions (SSDRs). Pituitary adenylate-cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP), and its main receptor PAC1, play an important role in fear-related behavior and anxiety disorders. However, the function of the PACAP-PAC1 system within the PAG with regards to SSDRs has received little attention. To address this gap, we used transgenic PAC1flox/flox mice to examine both conditional and unconditional defensive reactions. We performed conditional PAC1 gene deletion within the ventrolateral(vl)PAG of PAC1flox/flox mice using an adeno-associated virus (AAV) coding for Cre recombinase. Following viral expression, we used a white noise fear conditioning preparation that produces both an unconditional activity burst to the onset of noise that is followed by conditional freezing. On Day 1, mice received five white noise foot-shock pairings, whereas on Day 2, they were exposed to white noise five times without shock and we scored the activity burst and freezing to the white noise. Following behavioral testing, histology for immunofluorescent analysis was conducted in order to identify PACAP positive cells and stress-induced c-fos activity respectively. We found that PAC1 deletion in vlPAG increased the unconditional activity burst response but disrupted conditional freezing. PAC1 deletion was accompanied by higher c-fos activity following the behavioral experiments. Furthermore, a significant portion of PACAP-EGFP positive cells showed overlapping expression with VGAT, indicating their association with inhibitory neurons. The findings suggested that intact PACAP-PAC1 mechanisms are essential for SSDRs in vlPAG. Therefore, midbrain PACAP contributes to the underlying molecular mechanisms regulating fear responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ersin Yavas
- Department of PsychologyBartın UniversityBartınTurkey
| | - Irina Zhuravka
- Staglin Center for Brain and Behavioral HealthDepartment of Psychology, UCLALos AngelesCaliforniaUSA
| | - Michael S. Fanselow
- Staglin Center for Brain and Behavioral HealthDepartment of Psychology, UCLALos AngelesCaliforniaUSA
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral SciencesUCLALos AngelesCaliforniaUSA
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2
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Khandelwal A, Cushman J, Choi J, Zhuravka I, Rajbhandari A, Valiulahi P, Li X, Zhou C, Comai L, Reddy S. Mbnl2 loss alters novel context processing and impairs object recognition memory. iScience 2023; 26:106732. [PMID: 37216102 PMCID: PMC10193234 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106732] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2022] [Revised: 01/13/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 05/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Patients with myotonic dystrophy type I (DM1) demonstrate visuospatial dysfunction and impaired performance in tasks requiring recognition or memory of figures and objects. In DM1, CUG expansion RNAs inactivate the muscleblind-like (MBNL) proteins. We show that constitutive Mbnl2 inactivation in Mbnl2ΔE2/ΔE2 mice selectively impairs object recognition memory in the novel object recognition test. When exploring the context of a novel arena in which the objects are later encountered, the Mbnl2ΔE2/ΔE2 dorsal hippocampus responds with a lack of enrichment for learning and memory-related pathways, mounting instead transcriptome alterations predicted to impair growth and neuron viability. In Mbnl2ΔE2/ΔE2 mice, saturation effects may prevent deployment of a functionally relevant transcriptome response during novel context exploration. Post-novel context exploration alterations in genes implicated in tauopathy and dementia are observed in the Mbnl2ΔE2/ΔE2 dorsal hippocampus. Thus, MBNL2 inactivation in patients with DM1 may alter novel context processing in the dorsal hippocampus and impair object recognition memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abinash Khandelwal
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
| | - Jesse Cushman
- UCLA Behavioral Testing Core, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563, USA
| | - Jongkyu Choi
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
| | - Irina Zhuravka
- UCLA Behavioral Testing Core, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563, USA
| | - Abha Rajbhandari
- UCLA Behavioral Testing Core, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563, USA
| | - Parvin Valiulahi
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
| | - Xiandu Li
- . Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
| | - Chenyu Zhou
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
| | - Lucio Comai
- . Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
| | - Sita Reddy
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
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3
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Khoja S, Lambert J, Nitzahn M, Eliav A, Zhang Y, Tamboline M, Le CT, Nasser E, Li Y, Patel P, Zhuravka I, Lueptow LM, Tkachyova I, Xu S, Nissim I, Schulze A, Lipshutz GS. Gene therapy for guanidinoacetate methyltransferase deficiency restores cerebral and myocardial creatine while resolving behavioral abnormalities. Mol Ther Methods Clin Dev 2022; 25:278-296. [PMID: 35505663 PMCID: PMC9051621 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtm.2022.03.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Accepted: 03/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Creatine deficiency disorders are inborn errors of creatine metabolism, an energy homeostasis molecule. One of these, guanidinoacetate N-methyltransferase (GAMT) deficiency, has clinical characteristics that include features of autism, self-mutilation, intellectual disability, and seizures, with approximately 40% having a disorder of movement; failure to thrive can also be a component. Along with low creatine levels, guanidinoacetic acid (GAA) toxicity has been implicated in the pathophysiology of the disorder. Present-day therapy with oral creatine to control GAA lacks efficacy; seizures can persist. Dietary management and pharmacological ornithine treatment are challenging. Using an AAV-based gene therapy approach to express human codon-optimized GAMT in hepatocytes, in situ hybridization, and immunostaining, we demonstrated pan-hepatic GAMT expression. Serial collection of blood demonstrated a marked early and sustained reduction of GAA with normalization of plasma creatine; urinary GAA levels also markedly declined. The terminal time point demonstrated marked improvement in cerebral and myocardial creatine levels. In conjunction with the biochemical findings, treated mice gained weight to nearly match their wild-type littermates, while behavioral studies demonstrated resolution of abnormalities; PET-CT imaging demonstrated improvement in brain metabolism. In conclusion, a gene therapy approach can result in long-term normalization of GAA with increased creatine in guanidinoacetate N-methyltransferase deficiency and at the same time resolves the behavioral phenotype in a murine model of the disorder. These findings have important implications for the development of a new therapy for this abnormality of creatine metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suhail Khoja
- Department of Surgery, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90025, USA
| | - Jenna Lambert
- Department of Surgery, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90025, USA
| | - Matthew Nitzahn
- Molecular Biology Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90025, USA
| | - Adam Eliav
- Department of Surgery, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90025, USA
| | - YuChen Zhang
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90025, USA
| | - Mikayla Tamboline
- Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90025, USA.,Departments of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, Universtiy of California, Los Angeles, CA 90025, USA
| | - Colleen T Le
- Department of Surgery, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90025, USA
| | - Eram Nasser
- Department of Surgery, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90025, USA
| | - Yunfeng Li
- Departments of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90025, USA
| | - Puja Patel
- Department of Surgery, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90025, USA
| | - Irina Zhuravka
- Behavioral Testing Core, Department of Psychology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90025, USA
| | - Lindsay M Lueptow
- Behavioral Testing Core, Department of Psychology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90025, USA
| | - Ilona Tkachyova
- Research Institute, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada
| | - Shili Xu
- Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90025, USA.,Departments of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, Universtiy of California, Los Angeles, CA 90025, USA.,Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCLA, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90025, USA
| | - Itzhak Nissim
- Division of Metabolism and Human Genetics, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Perlman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Andreas Schulze
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada.,Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada.,Research Institute, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada
| | - Gerald S Lipshutz
- Department of Surgery, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90025, USA.,Molecular Biology Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90025, USA.,Semel Institute for Neuroscience, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90025, USA.,Departments of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, Universtiy of California, Los Angeles, CA 90025, USA.,Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90025, USA
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Trott JM, Hoffman AN, Zhuravka I, Fanselow MS. Conditional and unconditional components of aversively motivated freezing, flight and darting in mice. eLife 2022; 11:e75663. [PMID: 35616523 PMCID: PMC9173745 DOI: 10.7554/elife.75663] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2021] [Accepted: 05/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Fear conditioning is one of the most frequently used laboratory procedures for modeling learning and memory generally, and anxiety disorders in particular. The conditional response (CR) used in the majority of fear conditioning studies in rodents is freezing. Recently, it has been reported that under certain conditions, running, jumping, or darting replaces freezing as the dominant CR. These findings raise both a critical methodological problem and an important theoretical issue. If only freezing is measured but rodents express their learning with a different response, then significant instances of learning, memory, or fear may be missed. In terms of theory, whatever conditions lead to these different behaviors may be a key to how animals transition between different defensive responses and different emotional states. In mice, we replicated these past results but along with several novel control conditions. Contrary to the prior conclusions, running and darting were primarily a result of nonassociative processes and were actually suppressed by associative learning. Darting and flight were taken to be analogous to nonassociative startle or alpha responses that are potentiated by fear. Additionally, associative processes had some impact on the topography of flight behavior. On the other hand, freezing was the purest reflection of associative learning. We also uncovered a rule that describes when these movements replace freezing: when afraid, freeze until there is a sudden novel change in stimulation, then burst into vigorous flight attempts. This rule may also govern the change from fear to panic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeremy M Trott
- Staglin Center for Brain and Behavioral Health, Department of Psychology, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Ann N Hoffman
- Staglin Center for Brain and Behavioral Health, Department of Psychology, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Irina Zhuravka
- Staglin Center for Brain and Behavioral Health, Department of Psychology, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Michael S Fanselow
- Staglin Center for Brain and Behavioral Health, Department of Psychology, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
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5
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Fanselow MS, Hoffman AN, Zhuravka I. Timing and the transition between modes in the defensive behavior system. Behav Processes 2019; 166:103890. [PMID: 31254627 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2019.103890] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2018] [Revised: 06/17/2019] [Accepted: 06/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Antipredator defense is organized in a way that mirrors Timberlake's feeding behavior system because the goal of defense is to thwart predatory behavior. Each predatory mode has a corresponding antipredator mode. Like appetitive behavior systems, the defensive behavior system is organized around distinct modes along a spatiotemporal continuum we call the predatory imminence continuum. Behavior systems theory directs investigation toward the factors that lead to transitions between modes. In the feeding and sex systems the time between Conditional Stimulus (CS) and Unconditional Stimulus (US; e.g., CS-US interval or CS duration) is an important factor. Short CSs elicit conditional responses (CR) characteristic of more terminal modes and long CSs provoke CRs belonging to initial modes. Therefore, we asked if short CSs (10 s) would provoke CRs like the vigorous activity bursts and escape-like responses characteristic of the terminal mode of the predatory imminence continuum (Circa-Strike Behavior). Also, via analogy to appetitive systems, long CSs (3 min) were predicted to favor the intermediate mode, post-encounter behavior, which is characterized by freezing. Instead we found that both CSs produced freezing but not activity burst CRs and that freezing was actually greater with the short CS. We suggest that this difference between behavior systems flows from selection pressure that favors moving toward terminal modes in appetitive systems but away from terminal modes in the antipredator system. In addition, since appetitive reinforcers are more likely to be repeatedly experienced than predators, the learning of timing may be less relevant to defense. We also found that shock produced activity bursts and argue that when you are in the post-encounter mode (freezing) a sudden change in stimulation causes an immediate transition to circa-strike (terminal) behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael S Fanselow
- Staglin Center for Brain & Behavioral Health, Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90405, United States.
| | - Ann N Hoffman
- Staglin Center for Brain & Behavioral Health, Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90405, United States
| | - Irina Zhuravka
- Staglin Center for Brain & Behavioral Health, Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90405, United States
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6
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Angarita SAK, Truong B, Khoja S, Nitzahn M, Rajbhandari AK, Zhuravka I, Duarte S, Lin MG, Lam AK, Cederbaum SD, Lipshutz GS. Human hepatocyte transplantation corrects the inherited metabolic liver disorder arginase deficiency in mice. Mol Genet Metab 2018; 124:114-123. [PMID: 29724658 PMCID: PMC5976549 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymgme.2018.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2018] [Revised: 04/16/2018] [Accepted: 04/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The transplantation, engraftment, and expansion of primary hepatocytes have the potential to be an effective therapy for metabolic disorders of the liver including those of nitrogen metabolism. To date, such methods for the treatment of urea cycle disorders in murine models has only been minimally explored. Arginase deficiency, an inherited disorder of nitrogen metabolism that presents in the first two years of life, has the potential to be treated by such methods. To explore the potential of this approach, we mated the conditional arginase deficient mouse with a mouse model deficient in fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase (FAH) and with Rag2 and IL2-Rγ mutations to give a selective advantage to transplanted (normal) human hepatocytes. On day -1, a uroplasminogen-expressing adenoviral vector was administered intravenously followed the next day with the transplantation of 1 × 106 human hepatocytes (or vehicle alone) by intrasplenic injection. As the initial number of administered hepatocytes would be too low to prevent hepatotoxicity-induced mortality, NTBC cycling was performed to allow for hepatocyte expansion and repopulation. While all control mice died, all except one human hepatocyte transplanted mice survived. Four months after hepatocyte transplantation, 2 × 1011 genome copies of AAV-TBG-Cre recombinase was administered IV to disrupt endogenous hepatic arginase expression. While all control mice died within the first month, human hepatocyte transplanted mice did well. Ammonia and amino acids, analyzed in both groups before and after disruption of endogenous arginase expression, while well-controlled in the transplanted group, were markedly abnormal in the controls. Ammonium challenging further demonstrated the durability and functionality of the human repopulated liver. In conclusion, these studies demonstrate that human hepatocyte repopulation in the murine liver can result in effective treatment of arginase deficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie A K Angarita
- Department of Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Brian Truong
- Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Suhail Khoja
- Department of Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Matthew Nitzahn
- Department of Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States; Molecular Biology Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Abha K Rajbhandari
- Behavioral Testing Core Facility, Department of Psychology and Brain Research Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Irina Zhuravka
- Behavioral Testing Core Facility, Department of Psychology and Brain Research Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Sergio Duarte
- Department of Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Michael G Lin
- Department of Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Alex K Lam
- Department of Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Stephen D Cederbaum
- Department of Psychiatry, The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States; Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center at UCLA, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Gerald S Lipshutz
- Department of Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States; Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States; Molecular Biology Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States; Department of Psychiatry, The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States; Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center at UCLA, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States; Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States; Department of Urology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States; Semel Institute for Neuroscience, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States; Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
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7
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Poulos AM, Mehta N, Lu B, Amir D, Livingston B, Santarelli A, Zhuravka I, Fanselow MS. Conditioning- and time-dependent increases in context fear and generalization. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2016; 23:379-85. [PMID: 27317198 PMCID: PMC4918784 DOI: 10.1101/lm.041400.115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2015] [Accepted: 04/12/2016] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
A prominent feature of fear memories and anxiety disorders is that they endure across extended periods of time. Here, we examine how the severity of the initial fear experience influences incubation, generalization, and sensitization of contextual fear memories across time. Adult rats were presented with either five, two, one, or zero shocks (1.2 mA, 2 sec) during contextual fear conditioning. Following a recent (1 d) or remote (28 d) retention interval all subjects were returned to the original training context to measure fear memory and/or to a novel context to measure the specificity of fear conditioning. Our results indicate rats that received two or five shocks show an “incubation”-like enhancement of fear between recent and remote retention intervals, while single-shocked animals show stable levels of context fear memory. Moreover, when fear was tested in a novel context, 1 and 2 shocked groups failed to freeze, whereas five shocked rats showed a time-dependent generalization of context memory. Stress enhancement of fear learning to a second round of conditioning was evident in all previously shocked animals. Based on these results, we conclude that the severity or number of foot shocks determines not only the level of fear memory, but also the time-dependent incubation of fear and its generalization across distinct contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew M Poulos
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, New York 12222, USA Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - Nehali Mehta
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - Bryan Lu
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - Dorsa Amir
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - Briana Livingston
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - Anthony Santarelli
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, New York 12222, USA
| | - Irina Zhuravka
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - Michael S Fanselow
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA Department of Psychiatry, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
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Ponnusamy R, Zhuravka I, Poulos AM, Shobe J, Merjanian M, Huang J, Wolvek D, O'Neill PK, Fanselow MS. Retrieval and Reconsolidation Accounts of Fear Extinction. Front Behav Neurosci 2016; 10:89. [PMID: 27242459 PMCID: PMC4860411 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2016.00089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2015] [Accepted: 04/26/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Extinction is the primary mode for the treatment of anxiety disorders. However, extinction memories are prone to relapse. For example, fear is likely to return when a prolonged time period intervenes between extinction and a subsequent encounter with the fear-provoking stimulus (spontaneous recovery). Therefore there is considerable interest in the development of procedures that strengthen extinction and to prevent such recovery of fear. We contrasted two procedures in rats that have been reported to cause such deepened extinction. One where extinction begins before the initial consolidation of fear memory begins (immediate extinction) and another where extinction begins after a brief exposure to the consolidated fear stimulus. The latter is thought to open a period of memory vulnerability similar to that which occurs during initial consolidation (reconsolidation update). We also included a standard extinction treatment and a control procedure that reversed the brief exposure and extinction phases. Spontaneous recovery was only found with the standard extinction treatment. In a separate experiment we tested fear shortly after extinction (i.e., within 6 h). All extinction procedures, except reconsolidation update reduced fear at this short-term test. The findings suggest that strengthened extinction can result from alteration in both retrieval and consolidation processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ravikumar Ponnusamy
- Departments of Psychology, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, and The Brain Research Institute, University of California Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Irina Zhuravka
- Departments of Psychology, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, and The Brain Research Institute, University of California Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Andrew M Poulos
- Departments of Psychology, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, and The Brain Research Institute, University of California Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Justin Shobe
- Departments of Psychology, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, and The Brain Research Institute, University of California Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Michael Merjanian
- Departments of Psychology, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, and The Brain Research Institute, University of California Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jeannie Huang
- Departments of Psychology, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, and The Brain Research Institute, University of California Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - David Wolvek
- Departments of Psychology, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, and The Brain Research Institute, University of California Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Pia-Kelsey O'Neill
- Departments of Psychology, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, and The Brain Research Institute, University of California Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Michael S Fanselow
- Departments of Psychology, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, and The Brain Research Institute, University of California Los Angeles, CA, USA
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9
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Poulos AM, Zhuravka I, Long V, Gannam C, Fanselow M. Sensitization of fear learning to mild unconditional stimuli in male and female rats. Behav Neurosci 2015; 129:62-7. [PMID: 25621793 DOI: 10.1037/bne0000033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Stress-enhanced fear learning (SEFL) refers to the long-lasting nonassociative sensitization produced by intense stress (e.g., repeated and unpredictable footshock) that results in increased fear learning to a mild conditioning regimen (e.g., one shock). SEFL experiments suggest that one component of posttraumatic behavior is inappropriately strong fear conditioning occurring to relatively mild stressors. Past reports of SEFL have used the same intensity (1 mA) of footshock to cause both the sensitization and conditioning of new fear. SEFL would be a particularly problematic component of posttrauma behavior if intense stress results in substantial fear conditioning under conditions that would not normally support conditioning. Therefore, we determined if SEFL occurred when the conditioning shock was substantially milder than the SEFL-inducing shock. The results indicate that exposure to a sensitizing regimen of shock can convert a mild footshock that normally does not support measurable levels of fear conditioning into one that causes substantial learned fear. Moreover, as the intensity of single footshock increases, so does the capacity of the prior stressor to contribute to the sensitization of fear responses. Consistent with prior studies, males acquired and retained a greater level of fear conditioning than female rats, however the level of sensitization did not differ between sexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew M Poulos
- Department of Psychology, Center for Neuroscience, University at Albany, State University of New York
| | - Irina Zhuravka
- Department of Psychology, University of California-Los Angeles
| | - Virginia Long
- Department of Psychology, University of California-Los Angeles
| | - Camille Gannam
- Department of Psychology, University of California-Los Angeles
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Poulos AM, Reger M, Mehta N, Zhuravka I, Sterlace SS, Gannam C, Hovda DA, Giza CC, Fanselow M. Amnesia for early life stress does not preclude the adult development of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in rats. Biol Psychiatry 2014; 76:306-14. [PMID: 24231200 PMCID: PMC3984614 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2013.10.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2013] [Revised: 09/11/2013] [Accepted: 10/03/2013] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Traumatic experience can result in life-long changes in the ability to cope with future stressors and emotionally salient events. These experiences, particularly during early development, are a significant risk factor for later life anxiety disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, because traumatic experience typically results in strong episodic memories, it is not known whether such long-term memories are necessary for particular features of PTSD, such as enhanced fear and anxiety. Here, we used a fear conditioning procedure in juvenile rats before maturation of the neural systems supporting declarative memory to assess the necessity of early memory to the later life development of PTSD-related symptoms. METHODS Nineteen-day old rats were exposed to unpredictable and inescapable footshocks, and fear memory for the shock context was assessed during adulthood. Thereafter, adult animals were either exposed to single-trial fear conditioning or elevated plus maze or sacrificed for basal diurnal corticosterone and quantification of neuronal glucocorticoid and neuropeptide Y receptors. RESULTS Early trauma exposed rats displayed stereotypic footshock reactivity, yet by adulthood, hippocampus-dependent contextual fear-related memory was absent. However, adult rats showed sensitized fear learning, aberrant basal circadian fluctuations of corticosterone, increased amygdalar glucocorticoid receptors, decreased time spent in the open arm of an elevated plus maze, and an odor aversion associated with early-life footshocks. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that traumatic experience during developmental periods of hippocampal immaturity can promote lifelong changes in symptoms and neuropathology associated with human PTSD, even if there is no explicit memory of the early trauma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew M. Poulos
- University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America,Department of Psychology,UCLA Behavioral Testing Core, Brain Research Institute
| | - Maxine Reger
- University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America,Department of Psychology,UCLA Brain Injury Research Center, Department of Neurosurgery, David Geffen School of Medicine
| | - Nehali Mehta
- University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America,Department of Psychology
| | - Irina Zhuravka
- University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America,Department of Psychology,UCLA Behavioral Testing Core, Brain Research Institute
| | - Sarah S. Sterlace
- University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America,Department of Psychology
| | - Camille Gannam
- University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America,Department of Psychology
| | - David A. Hovda
- University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America,UCLA Brain Injury Research Center, Department of Neurosurgery, David Geffen School of Medicine
| | - Christopher C. Giza
- University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America,UCLA Brain Injury Research Center, Department of Neurosurgery, David Geffen School of Medicine,Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Neurology, Mattel Children’s Hospital; and Department of Medical and Molecular Pharmacology
| | - Michael Fanselow
- University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America,Department of Psychology,UCLA Behavioral Testing Core, Brain Research Institute,Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA Integrative Center for Learning and Memory
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