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Pleil KE, Grant KA, Cuzon Carlson VC, Kash TL. Chronic alcohol consumption alters sex-dependent BNST neuron function in rhesus macaques. Neurobiol Stress 2024; 31:100638. [PMID: 38737421 PMCID: PMC11088190 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2024.100638] [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: 01/30/2024] [Revised: 04/11/2024] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Repeated alcohol drinking contributes to a number of neuropsychiatric diseases, including alcohol use disorder and co-expressed anxiety and mood disorders. Women are more susceptible to the development and expression of these diseases with the same history of alcohol exposure as men, suggesting they may be more sensitive to alcohol-induced plasticity in limbic brain regions controlling alcohol drinking, stress responsivity, and reward processing, among other behaviors. Using a translational model of alcohol drinking in rhesus monkeys, we examined sex differences in the basal function and plasticity of neurons in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), a brain region in the extended amygdala shown to be a hub circuit node dysregulated in individuals with anxiety and alcohol use disorder. We performed slice electrophysiology recordings from BNST neurons in male and female monkeys following daily "open access" (22 h/day) to 4% ethanol and water for more than one year or control conditions. We found that BNST neurons from control females had reduced overall current density, hyperpolarization-activated depolarizing current (Ih), and inward rectification, as well as higher membrane resistance and greater synaptic glutamatergic release and excitatory drive, than those from control males, suggesting that female BNST neurons are more basally excited than those from males. Chronic alcohol drinking produced a shift in these measures in both sexes, decreasing current density, Ih, and inward rectification and increasing synaptic excitation. In addition, network activity-dependent synaptic inhibition was basally higher in BNST neurons of males than females, and alcohol exposure increased this in both sexes, a putative homeostatic mechanism to counter hyperexcitability. Altogether, these results suggest that the rhesus BNST is more basally excited in females than males and chronic alcohol drinking produces an overall increase in excitability and synaptic excitation. These results shed light on the mechanisms contributing to the female-biased susceptibility to neuropsychiatric diseases including co-expressed anxiety and alcohol use disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristen E. Pleil
- Department of Pharmacology, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, NY, 10065, USA
- Department of Pharmacology and Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA
| | - Kathleen A. Grant
- Division of Neuroscience, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Beaverton, OR, 97006, USA
| | - Verginia C. Cuzon Carlson
- Division of Neuroscience, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Beaverton, OR, 97006, USA
| | - Thomas L. Kash
- Department of Pharmacology and Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA
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Thompson SM, Fabian CB, Ferranti AS, Joffe ME. Acute alcohol and chronic drinking bidirectionally regulate the excitability of prefrontal cortex vasoactive intestinal peptide interneurons. Neuropharmacology 2023; 238:109638. [PMID: 37482180 PMCID: PMC10529784 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2023.109638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [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] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2023] [Revised: 06/09/2023] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/25/2023]
Abstract
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) regulates drinking behaviors and affective changes following chronic alcohol use. PFC activity is dynamically modulated by local inhibitory interneurons (INs), which can be divided into non-overlapping groups with distinct functional roles. Within deeper layers of neocortex, INs that express either parvalbumin or somatostatin directly inhibit pyramidal cells. By contrast, the plurality of all remaining INs express vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), reside within superficial layers, and preferentially target other types of INs. While recent studies have described adaptations to PFC parvalbumin-INs and somatostatin-INs in alcohol use models, whether ethanol or drinking affect the physiology of PFC VIP-INs has not been reported. To address this gap, we used genetically engineered female and male mice to target VIP-INs in layers 1-3 of prelimbic PFC for whole-cell patch-clamp electrophysiology. We found that ethanol (20 mM, ∼0.09 BEC/90 mg/dL) application to PFC brain slices enhances VIP-IN excitability. We next examined effects following chronic drinking by providing mice with 4 weeks of intermittent access (IA) ethanol two-bottle choice in the home cage. In these studies, VIP-INs from female and male IA ethanol mice displayed reduced excitability relative to cells from water-only controls. Finally, we assessed whether these effects continue into abstinence. After 7-13 days without ethanol, the hypo-excitability of VIP-INs from male IA ethanol mice persisted, whereas cells from female IA ethanol mice were not different from their controls. Together, these findings illustrate that acute ethanol enhances VIP-IN excitability and suggest these cells undergo pronounced homeostatic changes following long-term drinking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shannon M Thompson
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15219, USA; Translational Neuroscience Program, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Carly B Fabian
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15219, USA; Translational Neuroscience Program, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Center for Neuroscience University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Anthony S Ferranti
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA
| | - Max E Joffe
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15219, USA; Translational Neuroscience Program, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Center for Neuroscience University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
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Effertz T, Moser T, Oliver D. Recent advances in cochlear hair cell nanophysiology: subcellular compartmentalization of electrical signaling in compact sensory cells. Fac Rev 2021; 9:24. [PMID: 33659956 PMCID: PMC7886071 DOI: 10.12703/r/9-24] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [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] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
In recent years, genetics, physiology, and structural biology have advanced into the molecular details of the sensory physiology of auditory hair cells. Inner hair cells (IHCs) and outer hair cells (OHCs) mediate two key functions: active amplification and non-linear compression of cochlear vibrations by OHCs and sound encoding by IHCs at their afferent synapses with the spiral ganglion neurons. OHCs and IHCs share some molecular physiology, e.g. mechanotransduction at the apical hair bundles, ribbon-type presynaptic active zones, and ionic conductances in the basolateral membrane. Unique features enabling their specific function include prestin-based electromotility of OHCs and indefatigable transmitter release at the highest known rates by ribbon-type IHC active zones. Despite their compact morphology, the molecular machineries that either generate electrical signals or are driven by these signals are essentially all segregated into local subcellular structures. This review provides a brief account on recent insights into the molecular physiology of cochlear hair cells with a specific focus on organization into membrane domains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Effertz
- InnerEarLab, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37099 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Tobias Moser
- Institute for Auditory Neuroscience and InnerEarLab, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37099 Göttingen, Germany
- Auditory Neuroscience Group, Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
- Synaptic Nanophysiology Group, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Multiscale Bioimaging Cluster of Excellence (MBExC), University of Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Dominik Oliver
- Institute for Physiology and Pathophysiology, Philipps University, Deutschhausstraße 2, 35037 Marburg, Germany
- Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), Universities of Marburg and Giessen, Germany
- DFG Research Training Group, Membrane Plasticity in Tissue Development and Remodelling, GRK 2213, Philipps University, Marburg, Germany
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Gupta K, Chattarji S. Sex differences in the delayed impact of acute stress on the amygdala. Neurobiol Stress 2021; 14:100292. [PMID: 33490316 PMCID: PMC7807162 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2020.100292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [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: 09/24/2020] [Revised: 12/10/2020] [Accepted: 12/28/2020] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
There is accumulating evidence that stress triggers specific temporal patterns of morphological plasticity in the amygdala, a brain area that plays a pivotal role in the debilitating emotional symptoms of stress-related psychiatric disorders. Acute immobilization stress is known to cause a delayed increase in the density of dendritic spines on principal neurons in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) of rats. These neuronal changes are also accompanied by a delayed enhancement in anxiety-like behavior. However, these earlier studies used male rats, and the delayed behavioral and synaptic effects of acute stress on the BLA of female rats remain unexplored. Here, using whole-cell recordings in rat brain slices, we find that a single exposure to 2-h immobilization stress leads to an increase, 10 days later, in the frequency of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs) recorded from lateral amygdala (LA) principal neurons in male rats. Further, acute stress also causes a reduction in the frequency of miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents (mIPSCs) in LA neurons 10 days after acute stress. In striking contrast, excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission in the LA of female rats does not exhibit any delayed change despite exposure to the same acute stress. Finally, we examined the functional impact of these contrasting synaptic changes at the behavioral level. Male rats exhibit a delayed increase in anxiety-like behavior on the elevated plus-maze 10 days after acute stress. However, the same stress does not lead to a delayed anxiogenic effect in female rats. Together, these results demonstrate that the delayed modulation of the balance of synaptic excitation and inhibition in the amygdala, as well as anxiety-like behavior, differ between males and females. These findings provide a framework, across biological scales, for analyzing how affective symptoms of stress disorders vary between the sexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kanika Gupta
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore, 560065, India
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Joffe ME, Winder DG, Conn PJ. Contrasting sex-dependent adaptations to synaptic physiology and membrane properties of prefrontal cortex interneuron subtypes in a mouse model of binge drinking. Neuropharmacology 2020; 178:108126. [PMID: 32781000 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2020.108126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [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: 01/05/2020] [Revised: 04/18/2020] [Accepted: 04/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) affects all sexes, however women who develop AUD may be particularly susceptible to cravings and other components of the disease. While many brain regions are involved in AUD etiology, proper prefrontal cortex (PFC) function is particularly important for top-down craving management and the moderation of drinking behaviors. Essential regulation of PFC output is provided by local inhibitory interneurons, yet how drinking affects interneuron physiology remains poorly understood, particularly in female individuals. To address this gap, we generated fluorescent reporter transgenic mice to label the two major classes of interneuron in deep layer prelimbic PFC, based on expression of parvalbumin (PV-IN) or somatostatin (SST-IN). We then interrogated PV-IN and SST-IN membrane and synaptic physiology in a rodent model of binge drinking. Beginning in late adolescence, mice received 3-4 weeks of intermittent access (IA) ethanol. We prepared acute brain slices one day after the last drinking session. PV-INs but not SST-INs from IA ethanol mice displayed increased excitability relative to controls, regardless of sex. On the contrary, synaptic adaptations to PV-INs differed based on sex. While drinking decreased excitatory synaptic strength onto PV-INs from female mice, PV-INs from IA ethanol male mice exhibited potentiated excitatory transmission relative to controls. In contrast, decreased synaptic strength onto SST-INs was observed following IA ethanol in all groups of mice. Together, these findings illustrate novel sex differences in drinking-related PFC pathophysiology. Discovering means to restore PV-IN and SST-IN dysfunction following extended drinking provides opportunities for developing new treatments for all AUD patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Max E Joffe
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA; Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA; Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA.
| | - Danny G Winder
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA; Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA; Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA
| | - P Jeffrey Conn
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA; Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA; Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA
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Barria A. Preparation of Organotypic Slice Cultures for the Study of Glutamate Receptor Function. Methods Mol Biol 2019; 1941:57-64. [PMID: 30707427 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-9077-1_5] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Organotypic slice cultures enable the study of glutamate receptors in an environment closely related to the in vivo situation but with easy access to genetic manipulation of the receptors and regulatory signaling cascades as well as a more precise pharmacological intervention. We describe a method to prepare organotypic hippocampal slices that can be easily adapted to other brain regions. Brain slices are laid on porous membranes, and culture medium is allowed to form an interface. This method preserves the functionality and gross architecture of the hippocampus for up to 2 weeks in culture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andres Barria
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA.
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