Article
Neurosciences
Anna Gugula, Aleksandra Trenk, Aleksandra Celary, Katarzyna Cizio, Grzegorz Tylko, Anna Blasiak, Grzegorz Hess
Summary: Early-life stress has long-term consequences, including an increased risk for drug abuse and psychiatric disorders later in life, higher in women than in men. This study reveals the changes in stress sensitivity of specific neuronal populations in the ventral tegmental area and lateral hypothalamus caused by early-life stress.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Larissa Erben, Jacqueline P. Welday, Ricardo Murphy, Andres Buonanno
Summary: Microinjection of AAV_Cre in the ventral tegmental area can have neurotoxic effects on dopaminergic neurons and elicit behavioral abnormalities, which are independent of ErbB4 Cyt-1 recombination and also observed in wild-type controls. These non-specific effects can be prevented by reducing viral titers while maintaining sufficient recombination activity.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biology
Kevin Beier
Summary: This study used a modified viral-genetic strategy to investigate both local and long-range inputs to dopamine cells in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) in mice. The findings revealed that nearly half of the inputs to VTA cells are located locally, which were previously overlooked. The main source of inhibition to VTA cells is from the substantia nigra pars reticulata, with substantial contributions from the VTA and substantia nigra pars compacta. Dopamine neurons also have connections with other dopamine neurons within the VTA and the nearby retrorubal field. Additionally, the study showed that VTA neurons receive inputs from serotonergic neurons distributed throughout the midbrain and hindbrain, with the majority coming from the dorsal raphe.
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Xiaoyan Ding, Mengdie Yang, Ning Wu, Jin Li, Rui Song
Summary: Abnormal fear memory can lead to stress disorders such as PTSD. Therefore, intervention in the formation of abnormal fear memory can be a new strategy for preventing and treating PTSD.
BIOMEDICINE & PHARMACOTHERAPY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Grazyna Jerzemowska, Karolina Plucinska, Aleksandra Piwka, Magdalena Podlacha, Jolanta Orzel-Gryglewska
Summary: In this study, the researchers investigated the role of opioid receptors (OR) in the pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus (PPN) in regulating motivated behaviors. They found that activation and blocking of OR in the PPN affected behavioral and neuronal activity, modulating the reward system.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Beibei Peng, Qikuan Xu, Jing Liu, Sophie Guo, Stephanie L. Borgland, Shuai Liu
Summary: The study found that chronic corticosteroid treatment induces anxiety-like behavior and impairs food-seeking behavior. Additionally, chronic CORT treatment decreases excitability and excitatory synaptic transmission onto VTA dopamine neurons, while increasing somatodendritic dopamine concentration. Restoring D2R signaling in the VTA can ameliorate these deficits induced by chronic CORT exposure.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Veronne A. J. de Vrind, Lisanne J. van 't Sant, Annemieke Rozeboom, Mieneke C. M. Luijendijk-Berg, Azar Omrani, Roger A. H. Adan
Summary: Leptin is an important hormone in body weight regulation, playing a role in food reward, feeding, and locomotion. Previous studies focused on LepR neurons in the VTA, neglecting the potential function of SN LepR neurons.
FRONTIERS IN ENDOCRINOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Montse Flores-Garcia, Arianna Rizzo, Maria Zelai Garcon-Poca, Victor Fernandez-Duenas, Jordi Bonaventura
Summary: Chronic pain and depression lead to a significant socioeconomic burden. This review focuses on the role of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) as a hub where pain and emotional processing converge, and discusses the feasibility of using VTA as a therapeutic target. The dopaminergic system and VTA have been extensively studied in mood disorders, but less attention has been given to their involvement in pain and mood-related consequences.
FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Gemma Navarro, William Rea, Cesar Quiroz, Estefania Moreno, Devan Gomez, Cody J. Wenthur, Vicent Casado, Lorenzo Leggio, Matthew C. Hearing, Sergi Ferre
Summary: GHS-R1b facilitates oligomerization with GHS-R1a, impacting its pharmacological properties, but GHSR1a:GHS-R1b:D1R oligomers in the VTA are the main mediators of the dopaminergic effects of ghrelin.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Biology
Chun-Kui Zhang, Pan Wang, Yuan-Yuan Ji, Jian-Shuai Zhao, Jun-Xiang Gu, Xian-Xia Yan, Hong-Wei Fan, Ming-Ming Zhang, Yu Qiao, Xiao-Die Liu, Bao-Juan Li, Ming-Hui Wang, Hai-Long Dong, Hao-Hong Li, Peng-Cheng Huang, Yun-Qing Li, Wu-Gang Hou, Jin-Lian Li, Tao Chen
Summary: Chronic pain can lead to depression, but the specific mechanisms are still unclear. This study found that only 67.9% of mice with chronic neuropathic pain exhibited depression-like behaviors, while 32.1% of mice showed resilience to depression. The study highlights the importance of the connection between two groups of neurons in the development of depressive symptoms caused by chronic pain.
SCIENCE CHINA-LIFE SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Xiaoying Cui, Renata Ap. Nedel Pertile, Zilong Du, Wei Wei, Zichun Sun, Darryl W. Eyles, James P. Kesby
Summary: The dopaminergic system plays a crucial role in various brain functions, with subcortical DA development preceding cortical maturation. Dysfunctions in DA systems have been linked to neuropsychiatric disorders. Transcriptional factors and newly discovered non-coding RNAs play a crucial role in the fate of DA neurons, with HOTAIRM1 potentially having a key modulatory role in early DA neuron development.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Benoit Delignat-Lavaud, Jana Kano, Charles Ducrot, Ian Masse, Sriparna Mukherjee, Nicolas Giguere, Luc Moquin, Catherine Levesque, Samuel Burke, Raphaelle Denis, Marie-Josee Bourque, Alex Tchung, Pedro Rosa-Neto, Daniel Levesque, Louis De Beaumont, Louis-Eric Trudeau
Summary: The authors investigated the effect of loss of SYT1 in midbrain dopaminergic neurons in mice, and found that unconditioned motor behavior and motivation for food are intact. This suggests that activity-dependent dopamine release is dispensable for these tasks, which can be sustained by basal dopamine levels.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Susanna Molas, Rubing Zhao-Shea, Timothy G. Freels, Andrew R. Tapper
Summary: Midbrain dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) respond to rewarding stimuli and encode reward prediction error, but recent data suggest they also have roles in aversive signaling, salience, and novelty. This study aimed to functionally characterize the different outputs from VTA dopaminergic neurons and found that they project to the interpeduncular nucleus (IPN) and nucleus accumbens shell. Furthermore, it was confirmed that the VTA-IPN circuit is involved in motivated exploration.
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Yongxiang Li, Lvshuang Chen, Weijie Zhao, Lijuan Sun, Ruixue Zhang, Shuqing Zhu, Kailai Xie, Xiajie Feng, Xin Wu, Zhonghua Sun, Gang Shu, Songbo Wang, Ping Gao, Xiaotong Zhu, Lina Wang, Qingyan Jiang
Summary: TLR4 signaling plays a critical role in regulating the activity of VTA DA neurons and the normal function of the mesolimbic DA system, which may contribute to food reward.
PHARMACOLOGICAL RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Sheila A. Engi, Erin J. Beebe, Victoria M. Ayvazian, Fabio C. Cruz, Joseph F. Cheer, Jennifer M. Wenzel, Natalie E. Zlebnik
Summary: Mesolimbic dopamine plays a crucial role in motivated behavior, with CB1 receptor signaling in the VTA being implicated in the phasic activation of dopamine. Cocaine-induced increases in motivation appear to require 2-AG signaling at CB1 receptors in the VTA, suggesting potential cannabinoid-based pharmacotherapeutic targets for substance abuse treatment.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Kelly J. Wallace, Hans A. Hofmann
Summary: A study on male and female Astatotilapia burtoni in cognitive tasks revealed that both sexes prefer familiar objects in a novel object recognition task, but the timing of this preference varies between the sexes. Females excelled in learning the spatial task, showing longer decision latencies and quicker error correction, suggesting a potential speed-accuracy tradeoff.
Review
Zoology
Lauren A. O'Connell, David Crews
Summary: Research demonstrates that the brain is bipotential, capable of producing both male-typical and female-typical behavior not predetermined by a fixed program. Studies on whiptail lizards provide unique insights into the evolution of brain-behavior relationships and have transformed our understanding of sexuality.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY PART A-ECOLOGICAL AND INTEGRATIVE PHYSIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
David Kabelik, Allison R. Julien, Dave Ramirez, Lauren A. O'Connell
Summary: Individuals within populations show bold or shy social behavior phenotypes, with the ventromedial hypothalamus playing a key role in regulating these differences. Bold males exhibit increased expression of neuroendocrine and neurotransmitter receptor genes, while shy males express more integrin alpha-10. This study provides new insights into the genetic basis of individual differences in social behavior.
HORMONES AND BEHAVIOR
(2021)
Article
Biology
Daniel A. Shaykevich, Andrius Pasukonis, Lauren A. O'Connell
Summary: The study in French Guiana found that non-territorial, non-migratory cane toads exhibit strong navigational abilities, being able to return to their home areas in a short period. These observations challenge the current paradigm of amphibian navigation and suggest that navigational abilities may be widely shared among amphibians.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biology
Kelly J. Wallace, Kavyaa D. Choudhary, Layla A. Kutty, Don H. Le, Matthew T. Lee, Karleen Wu, Hans A. Hofmann
Summary: This study assessed male Astatotilapia burtoni fish in cognitive tasks before and after a community perturbation. The researchers found that ascending males underwent physiological changes and showed preference for novel object recognition during the perturbation, and differed in social competence from non-ascenders. Principal component analysis also identified specific cognitive and physiological attributes that predispose certain individuals to ascend in social status.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
David Kabelik, Allison R. Julien, Brandon R. Waddell, Mitchell A. Batschelett, Lauren A. O'Connell
Summary: Individuals within a population differ in their level of boldness in social encounters. These differences are often stable across time and social context, and may be influenced by neural and hormonal mechanisms. This study suggests that baseline vasopressin release plays a role in regulating individuals' aggression towards conspecifics.
HORMONES AND BEHAVIOR
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Aurora Alvarez-Buylla, Cheyenne Y. Payne, Charles Vidoudez, Sunia A. Trauger, Lauren A. O'Connell
Summary: This study reveals the ability of Dendrobates tinctorius to metabolize PTX 251D into a more potent form and provides insights into the mechanisms of alkaloid sequestration and metabolism in poison frogs. Through high-throughput screens, the molecular targets of PTX 251D and potential proteins responsible for its metabolism were identified. Additionally, this research shows that individual alkaloids can modify gene expression, and specific alkaloid classes may induce physiological changes for targeted accumulation and metabolism.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Zhou Chen, Sandra Zakrzewska, Holly S. Hajare, Aurora Alvarez-Buylla, Fayal Abderemane-Ali, Maximiliana Bogan, Dave Ramirez, Lauren A. O'Connell, J. Du Bois, Daniel L. Minor
Summary: This study defines the energetic basis of recognition between the sponge protein, RcSxph, and the neurotoxin STX. The study also improves the ability of RcSxph to neutralize STX and discovers new frog and toad sponge proteins. This research provides a molecular basis for understanding the roles of toxin sponge proteins in toxin resistance and developing novel proteins to sense or neutralize STX and related PSP toxins.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Nora A. Moskowitz, Rachel D'Agui, Aurora Alvarez-Buylla, Katherine Fiocca, Lauren A. O'Connell
Summary: This study investigates the relationship between dietary preferences and chemical defense load in poison frogs. The results show that frogs prefer interacting with smaller prey items and the overall preferences do not change during alkaloid consumption. Moreover, the study finds that the nutritional content of prey items also influences frog preferences.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Carlos Taboada, Jesse Delia, Maomao Chen, Chenshuo Ma, Xiaorui Peng, Xiaoyi Zhu, Laiming Jiang, Tri Vu, Qifa Zhou, Junjie Yao, Lauren O'Connell, Sonke Johnsen
Summary: Glassfrogs increase their transparency by removing red blood cells from circulation and packing them in their liver. This discovery provides insights into the mechanisms of vertebrate transparency and has implications for metabolic, hemodynamic, and blood-clot research.
Article
Biology
Andrius Pasukonis, Shirley Jennifer Serrano-Rojas, Marie-Therese Fischer, Matthias-Claudio Loretto, Daniel A. Shaykevich, Bibiana Rojas, Max Ringler, Alexandre B. Roland, Alejandro Marcillo-Lara, Eva Ringler, Camilo Rodriguez, Luis A. Coloma, Lauren A. O'Connell
Summary: This study found that reproductive strategies shape the movement patterns of poison frogs, but may not necessarily be related to navigational performance. Males displayed more explorative behavior, while females outperformed in parental care.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yin Chen Wan, Maria Jose Navarrete Mendez, Lauren A. O'Connell, Lawrence H. Uricchio, Alexandre-Benoit Roland, Martine E. Maan, Santiago R. Ron, Mileidy Betancourth-Cundar, Marcio R. Pie, Kimberly A. Howell, Corinne L. Richards-Zawacki, Molly E. Cummings, David C. Cannatella, Juan C. Santos, Rebecca D. Tarvin
Summary: Amphibians, with their dual aquatic and terrestrial lifestyle and ecological diversity, are excellent subjects for studying the evolution of the visual system. By evaluating signatures of selection on visual opsin genes in Neotropical anurans, we found evidence of selection on certain amino acid sites, which may play a role in spectral tuning and color-based intraspecific communication. Additionally, we discovered that the loss of an opsin gene in poison frogs could affect their wavelength discrimination and behavior, potentially due to the origin of diurnal activity in this group. These findings highlight the importance of sensory system evolution in ecological adaptation.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jesse Delia, Maiah Gaines-Richardson, Sarah C. Ludington, Najva Akbari, Cooper Vasek, Daniel Shaykevich, Lauren A. O'Connell
Summary: This study presents a protocol for testing in vivo electroporation techniques in a diverse array of tadpole species. The authors found that electrical pulse and injection parameters have species- and tissue-specific effects on plasmid DNA transfection in tadpoles. The results highlight the potential of extending in vivo electroporation to non-model amphibian species for genetic and behavioral studies.
Article
Neurosciences
Benjamin L. Clites, Hans A. Hofmann, Jonathan T. Pierce
Summary: The urgent need for medical treatments of alcohol use disorders has driven the search for new molecular targets. This article provides an evolutionary perspective on the molecular and genetic basis of alcohol consumption, highlighting the adaptive evolution of alcohol metabolic enzymes. By considering the natural selection of diverse species, novel conserved molecular targets of alcohol may be discovered.
NEUROSCIENCE INSIGHTS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Anna C. Krieger, Sydney C. Povilaitis, Prajwal Gowda, Lauren A. O'Connell, Livia S. Eberlin
Summary: This study demonstrates a novel method for sensitive detection and monitoring of poison frog alkaloids in vivo using the MasSpec Pen, a handheld noninvasive chemical detection device. The study observed the temporal dynamics of chemical sequestration in living frogs and also showed the feasibility of the MasSpec Pen for untargeted detection of rich alkaloid profiles from skin extracts.
ACS MEASUREMENT SCIENCE AU
(2022)