Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Hannah M. Baumgartner, Madeliene Granillo, Jay Schulkin, Kent C. Berridge
Summary: CRF-containing neurons in the NAc and CeA can amplify pursuit and consumption of cocaine by positively-valenced incentive mechanisms, without any aversive distress.
Article
Neurosciences
Jordan A. Brown, Nicholas Petersen, Samuel W. Centanni, Allie Y. Jin, Hye Jean Yoon, Stephanie A. Cajigas, Michelle N. Bedenbaugh, Joseph R. Luchsinger, Sachin Patel, Erin S. Calipari, Richard B. Simerly, Danny G. Winder
Summary: Alpha(2a)-adrenergic receptor agonists have the potential to be therapeutics for substance use disorder due to their ability to regulate stress system engagement. However, recent findings suggest that postsynaptic alpha(2a)-ARs are necessary for stress-induced reinstatement of drug-seeking behavior. In this study, the researchers utilized FosTRAP mice to identify a population of cells in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis that are activated by the partial agonist guanfacine. They found that these cells, called Guansembles, differ from cells activated by restraint stress. Guanfacine inhibited cAMP-dependent signaling in Guansembles, while chronic restraint stress increased signaling. Additionally, the researchers found that active coping events during restraint stress and exposure to unexpected shocks were associated with Guansemble recruitment. Using viral tracing, they identified a network of regions involved in stress and homeostatic functions that project to the BNST Guansembles. Activation of Guansembles also produced alterations in behavior consistent with task-specific anxiety-like behavior. Overall, this study provides important insights into the role of alpha(2a)-AR signaling and stress in regulating drug-seeking behavior.
NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Jessica A. Higginbotham, Rong Wang, Ben D. Richardson, Hiroko Shiina, Shi Min Tan, Mark A. Presker, David J. Rossi, Rita A. Fuchs
Summary: Systemic CB1R antagonism during cocaine-memory reconsolidation reduced drug context-induced cocaine-seeking behavior and inhibited cellular adaptations and synaptic physiology changes in the basolateral amygdala. These findings suggest that CB1R signaling modulates cellular and synaptic mechanisms in the BLA, potentially playing a crucial role in preventing relapse.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Michael S. Totty, Naomi Warren, Isabella Huddleston, Karthik R. Ramanathan, Reed L. Ressler, Cecily R. Oleksiak, Stephen Maren
Summary: This study demonstrates that flight behavior in animals is context-dependent and can be influenced by pharmacological inactivation of specific brain regions. The fear displayed by animals in response to contextual cues can combine with other forms of fear to drive high fear states and defensive responses.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Review
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Caroline B. Pantazis, Luis A. Gonzalez, Brendan J. Tunstall, Stephanie A. Carmack, George F. Koob, Leandro F. Vendruscolo
Summary: Environmental stimuli paired with withdrawal cues can promote motivation for opioids and lead to substance consumption. Patients with chronic pain may misuse opioids to escape pain. Sex differences may influence withdrawal-induced stress reactivity and withdrawal cue processing.
Article
Neurosciences
Elizabeth M. Doncheck, Eden M. Anderson, Chaz D. Konrath, Gage T. Liddiard, Margot C. DeBaker, Luke A. Urbanik, Matthew C. Hearing, John R. Mantsch
Summary: This study found that E2 activates ER beta and GPER1 in the PrL-PFC to attenuate the GABA-mediated constraint of key outputs that mediate cocaine seeking.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Aaron Caccamise, Erik Van Newenhizen, John R. Mantsch
Summary: Stress plays a critical role in relapse susceptibility in individuals with substance use disorders, either directly triggering cocaine use or interacting with other stimuli to promote drug seeking behavior. The mechanisms of stress-triggered cocaine seeking involve various neural pathways and hormonal regulations.
JOURNAL OF NEUROCHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Substance Abuse
Elizabeth A. Flook, Brandee Feola, Margaret M. Benningfield, Marisa M. Silveri, Danny G. Winder, Jennifer Urbano Blackford
Summary: Rodent evidence supports the role of BNST in abstinence symptoms in AUD, and this study demonstrates intrinsic BNST connectivity differences in abstinent individuals compared to controls. Specifically, the BNST-hypothalamus connectivity was found to be lower in the abstinent group, and there were sex differences in both group and individual analyses.
ALCOHOL AND ALCOHOLISM
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Long Mei, Rongzhen Yan, Luping Yin, Regina M. Sullivan, Dayu Lin
Summary: In many species, there is a notable difference in pup-directed behaviors exhibited by female animals based on their reproductive state. Naive wild female mice often kill pups, while lactating female mice are dedicated to pup caring. The neural mechanisms underlying these behaviors and their transition remain unclear. This study focuses on the hypothesis that maternal and infanticidal behaviors are supported by distinct and competing neural circuits. It identifies three brain regions connected to the medial preoptic area (MPOA) that drive differential negative pup-directed behaviors.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Luiz Pessoa
Summary: We suggest that understanding complex behaviors associated with fear and anxiety requires examining brain processes at the collective, network level. It is important to study circuits/networks that involve multiple regions and cover the entire neuroaxis, including complex reciprocal interactions and loops. The circuits contributing to fear and anxiety should be conceptualized as embedded into large-scale connectional systems. In particular, the basolateral amygdala and the cortical-subcortical loop involving the extended amygdala play crucial roles in aversive conditioning, fear extinction, and the influence of fear and anxiety.
NEUROSCIENCE AND BIOBEHAVIORAL REVIEWS
(2023)
Review
Neurosciences
Haniyyah Sardar, Andrea N. Goldstein-Piekarski, William J. Giardino
Summary: Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder associated with excessive daytime sleepiness and sudden intrusion of sleep during wakefulness. Type 1 narcolepsy is believed to be caused by the loss of neurons containing the arousal neuropeptide Orexin. The amygdala, a brain region involved in emotional processing, may play a critical role in narcolepsy with cataplexy.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Mandy Rita LeCocq, Priya Chander, Nadia Chaudhri
Summary: The involvement of the & mu;-opioid system in the reinstatement of responding evoked by alcohol-predictive cues is well-established, but its role in the delayed reinstatement is unclear. This study investigated the role of & mu;-opioid receptors (MORs) in the delayed reinstatement of an extinguished Pavlovian conditioned response. The results showed that inhibiting MORs attenuated reinstatement elicited by an alcohol cue, but not by a sucrose cue, indicating an alcohol-specific involvement. Furthermore, blocking MORs in the ventral hippocampus prevented reinstatement of alcohol cue-induced responding, highlighting the importance of MORs in this brain region.
NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Valentina Krenz, Tobias Sommer, Arjen Alink, Benno Roozendaal, Lars Schwabe
Summary: Memories are believed to undergo a time-dependent system consolidation, during which hippocampal activity decreases and neocortical activity increases. However, noradrenergic arousal after encoding can reverse this process and maintain the vividness of memories over time.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Mengjun Li, Zhiping Zhang, Xiaolong Wu, Xu Wang, Xiaohai Liu, Jiantao Liang, Ge Chen, Yuanjing Feng, Mingchu Li
Summary: This study investigated the trajectory of the stria terminalis and developed a protocol for mapping it using multi-shell diffusion images based tractography. The stria terminalis was accurately visualized and shown to originate from the amygdala and follow a C-shaped trajectory around the thalamus before projecting to the bed nucleus of stria terminalis. The method could be important for studying the stria terminalis in neurological disorders.
Article
Neurosciences
Elizabeth M. Avegno, Nicholas W. Gilpin
Summary: Alcohol dependence is characterized by a shift in motivation from positive reinforcement to negative reinforcement, involving neural adaptations in VTA and extended amygdala, particularly in chronic alcohol responses. The exact mechanisms of this transition are not fully understood, but preclinical models play a significant role in studying this phenomenon.
Article
Neurosciences
Elizabeth M. Doncheck, Gage T. Liddiard, Chaz D. Konrath, Xiaojie Liu, Laikang Yu, Luke A. Urbanik, Matthew R. Herbst, Margot C. DeBaker, Nicholas Raddatz, Erik C. Van Newenhizen, Jacob Mathy, Marieke R. Gilmarti, Qing-song Liu, Cecilia J. Hillard, John R. Mantsch
NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
(2020)
Review
Microbiology
Abigail J. Perrin, Avnish Patel, Christian Flueck, Michael J. Blackman, David A. Baker
CURRENT OPINION IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Microbiology
Stephanie D. Nofal, Avnish Patel, Michael J. Blackman, Christian Flueck, David A. Baker
Summary: Guanylyl cyclases synthesize cyclic GMP, which plays a critical role in regulating cellular functions. In malaria parasites, GCs are associated with a unique bifunctional domain. The study shows that Plasmodium falciparum GC alpha is essential for cGMP production and merozoite egress, with the P4-ATPase domain playing a primary role in cGMP synthesis.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Aaron Caccamise, Erik Van Newenhizen, John R. Mantsch
Summary: Stress plays a critical role in relapse susceptibility in individuals with substance use disorders, either directly triggering cocaine use or interacting with other stimuli to promote drug seeking behavior. The mechanisms of stress-triggered cocaine seeking involve various neural pathways and hormonal regulations.
JOURNAL OF NEUROCHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Mitchell G. Spring, Aaron Caccamise, Elizabeth A. Panther, Bethany M. Windsor, Karan R. Soni, Jayme R. McReynolds, Daniel S. Wheeler, John R. Mantsch, Robert A. Wheeler
Summary: Chronic stress diminishes task-related activity of brain pathways regulating approach behavior, reducing cue-directed behavior and impairing associated cortical activity. Stress disrupts reward processing by altering the incentive value of associated cues.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Biographical-Item
Clinical Neurology
John R. Mantsch, Gavin Bart, Ellen M. Unterwald
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Elizabeth M. Doncheck, Eden M. Anderson, Chaz D. Konrath, Gage T. Liddiard, Margot C. DeBaker, Luke A. Urbanik, Matthew C. Hearing, John R. Mantsch
Summary: This study found that E2 activates ER beta and GPER1 in the PrL-PFC to attenuate the GABA-mediated constraint of key outputs that mediate cocaine seeking.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Abigail J. Perrin, Claudine Bisson, Peter A. Faull, Matthew J. Renshaw, Rebecca A. Lees, Roland A. Fleck, Helen R. Saibil, Ambrosius P. Snijders, David A. Baker, Michael J. Blackmanm
Summary: The protein SEA1 in Plasmodium falciparum plays a crucial role in the correct segregation of replicated DNA and formation of daughter merozoites during parasite development. Disruption of SEA1 expression results in defective merozoite development with some lacking nuclei, impacting egress. These findings suggest that SEA1 acts as an essential regulator in ensuring proper packaging of nuclei within merozoites, rather than directly facilitating egress.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Amir M. Forati, Rina Ghose, John R. Mantsch
Summary: Through geospatial analysis and multiscale geographically weighted regression, this study examined the determinants of opioid overdose deaths at the community level in Milwaukee County, identifying significant racialized health disparities. The findings showed that community-level factors play a crucial role in overdose risk, emphasizing the importance of targeted community-level solutions.
JOURNAL OF URBAN HEALTH-BULLETIN OF THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Rina Ghose, Amir M. Forati, John R. Mantsch
Summary: The opioid crisis has had varying effects on urban communities with different socioeconomic backgrounds, leading to widening health disparities. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic coincided with a significant increase in drug overdose deaths in the USA. This study used spatiotemporal analysis techniques to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on opioid overdose deaths and found that the pandemic significantly increased the monthly overdose deaths. The effects were particularly severe in poor, urban neighborhoods, affecting Black and Hispanic communities, but more affluent, suburban White communities also experienced an increase in overdose deaths.
JOURNAL OF URBAN HEALTH-BULLETIN OF THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Avnish Patel, Stephanie D. Nofal, Michael J. Blackman, David A. Baker
Summary: This study investigates the role of CDC50 proteins in Plasmodium falciparum and shows that CDC50B binds to GC alpha, regulating egress efficiency, while CDC50C plays a critical role in trophozoite maturation.
Article
Microbiology
Lindsay B. Stewart, Aline Freville, Till S. Voss, David A. Baker, Gordon A. Awandare, David J. Conway
Summary: Asexual blood-stage malaria parasites must produce sexual progeny for mosquito infection. Two different methods of commitment rate measurement were compared, with higher sensitivity and precision observed in the detection of an early differentiation marker. Clinical isolates and laboratory-adapted lines showed significant variation in commitment rates, and the effects of choline on commitment varied quantitatively.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2022)
Article
Substance Abuse
Amir Forati, Rina Ghose, Fahimeh Mohebbi, John R. Mantsch
Summary: This study applied geospatial analysis to examine the characteristics of the journey to drug overdose deaths in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The research found that the community of residence is often different from the community where the overdose death occurs. Furthermore, the study identified different types of hotspots for overdose deaths and revealed insights into the drugs involved and causes of death.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Jayme R. McReynolds, Colten P. Wolf, Dylan M. Starck, Jacob C. Mathy, Rebecca Schaps, Leslie A. Krause, Cecilia J. Hillard, John R. Mantsch
Summary: Stress promotes drug use in individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs). The CB1 cannabinoid receptor plays a crucial role in the stress-induced escalation of cocaine self-administration in male rats. The mesolimbic CB1 receptors are required for increased intake and heightened relapse susceptibility, suggesting that repeated stress at the time of cocaine use regulates CB1 receptor activity, though the exact mechanism is still unknown.
NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
(2023)