Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Joshua Orvis, Caroline B. Albertin, Pragya Shrestha, Shuangshuang Chen, Melanie Zheng, Cheyenne J. Rodriguez, Luke J. Tallon, Anup Mahurkar, Aleksey Zimin, Michelle Kim, Kelvin Liu, Eric R. Kandel, Claire M. Fraser, Wayne Sossin, Thomas W. Abrams
Summary: The gastropod mollusk Aplysia is an important model organism used in cellular and molecular neurobiological studies. By studying the improved transcriptome of the Aplysia nervous system, researchers can explore the evolution of cognitive capacity at the molecular level. Comparing Aplysia with the octopus, it was found that both have a similar complement of genes linked to neuronal function, but vertebrates have more isoforms of certain scaffold proteins. This analysis provides insights into the evolution of the synaptic proteome and suggests that synaptic proteins and plasticity evolved gradually.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Giuseppe Giannotti, Sheng Gong, Nicholas Fayette, Jasper A. Heinsbroek, James E. Orfila, Paco S. Herson, Christopher P. Ford, Jamie Peters
Summary: Using optogenetics and chemogenetics, this study investigated the role of the paraventricular thalamus (PVT) in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) pathway in aversion and heroin relapse. The findings show that the PVT -> NAc pathway is crucial for aversion and heroin seeking after abstinence, but not extinction. Extinction training reduces the contribution of this pathway to heroin relapse by altering synaptic plasticity, resulting in reduced aversion during opioid withdrawal and relapse propensity.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Marise B. Parent, Hildebrando Candido Ferreira-Neto, Ana Rafaela Kruemmel, Ferdinand Althammer, Atit A. Patel, Sreinick Keo, Kathryn E. Whitley, Daniel N. Cox, Javier E. Stern
Summary: The study found that rats with severely reduced ejection fraction replicated the behavioral symptoms seen in patients with chronic heart failure, including increased anxiety and impaired memory. Heart failure led to downregulation of synaptic plasticity genes in the brain, particularly in the prefrontal cortex and hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus.
BEHAVIOURAL BRAIN RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Jingjing Cheng, Xiaolin Ma, Chunlu Li, Rahim Ullah, Xiaoyu Wang, Jianmei Long, Zhenxin Yuan, Shuangshuang Liu, Junfen Fu, Zhong Chen, Yi Shen, Yu-Dong Zhou
Summary: Overconsumption of high-fat diet can lead to neuroadaptive responses in the brain's reward circuitry, contributing to eating disorders. This study reveals that high-fat diet consumption hinders the suppression of sucrose-seeking in mice triggered by threat cues. It is found that enhanced cue-triggered neuronal activity in the anterior paraventricular thalamus, resulting from microglia activation induced by high-fat diet, contributes to this compulsive sucrose-seeking behavior.
NATURE NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kaihua Jiang, Peng Xue, Yue Xu, Yang Yi, Jie Zhu, Li Ding, Aibin Zheng
Summary: The study analyzed the brain function of PNE and TD children and found significant differences in the functional connectivity between the left PVT and left NAc in PNE children compared to TD children. The findings indicate that the functional connectivity between rPVT and lNAc is more reliable in assessing the awakening ability of PNE children, potentially assisting in establishing evaluation indices for PNE.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Amir Hossein Mohammadi, Seyedvahid Seyedmoalemi, Mahsa Moghanlou, Seyed Amirreza Akhlagh, Sayyed Alireza Talaei Zavareh, Michael R. Hamblin, Ameneh Jafari, Hamed Mirzaei
Summary: Synaptic plasticity refers to the ability of synapses to weaken or strengthen over time, with miRNAs playing crucial roles in regulating this process. Dysregulation of miRNAs may be associated with pathological alterations in synaptic plasticity, leading to diseases. Understanding the impact of miRNAs on synaptic plasticity provides insights for the diagnosis and treatment of related diseases and drug addiction.
MOLECULAR NEUROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Guangchao Zhang, Mengqiao Cui, Ran Ji, Shiya Zou, Lingzhen Song, Bingqian Fan, Li Yang, Di Wang, Suwan Hu, Xiao Zhang, Tantan Fang, Xiaolu Yu, Jun-Xia Yang, Dipesh Chaudhury, He Liu, Ankang Hu, Hai-Lei Ding, Jun-Li Cao, Hongxing Zhang
Summary: Due to the lack of novel mechanism pain medications and the severe adverse effects of opioid analgesics, there is a need to explore non-opioid analgesia and gain a better understanding of pain mechanisms. The study identifies a new neural circuit (PVTGlut -> NAc) for pain sensation and non-opioid analgesia, which involves glutamatergic inputs from the paraventricular thalamic nucleus to the nucleus accumbens. It is shown that inhibiting this circuit in mice has a potent analgesic effect, independent of opioid receptors, making it a valuable target for developing safer pain medications.
PHARMACOLOGICAL RESEARCH
(2023)
Review
Neurosciences
Dheeraj S. Roy, Ying Zhang, Michael M. Halassa, Guoping Feng
Summary: Recent studies using advanced expression profiling have revealed gene expression gradients within and across thalamic nuclei, redefining functional units of the thalamus. Thalamic subnetworks, defined by the intersection of genetics, connectivity, and computation, provide a more appropriate level of functional description.
NATURE NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Review
Neurosciences
Christoph Miehl, Sebastian Onasch, Dylan Festa, Julijana Gjorgjieva
Summary: Assemblies of strongly connected neurons are believed to be the key computational units in the brain for perception and memory formation. Recent theoretical research has contributed to understanding the mechanisms involved in assembly formation, including synaptic plasticity, symmetry breaking, competition, and stability.
JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY-LONDON
(2023)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Kathleen Jacquerie, Guillaume Drion
Summary: The time scale separation between the activation of sodium and T-type calcium channels is crucial for robust switches in brain states in thalamic neurons. Conductance-based models show that this difference in kinetics is essential for studying the interaction between switches in brain states, synaptic plasticity, and neuromodulation.
PLOS COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Irantzu Rico-Barrio, Sara Penasco, Leire Lekunberri, Maitane Serrano, Jon Egana-Huguet, Amaia Mimenza, Edgar Soria-Gomez, Almudena Ramos, Ianire Buceta, Inmaculada Gerrikagoitia, Juan Mendizabal-Zubiaga, Izaskun Elezgarai, Nagore Puente, Pedro Grandes
Summary: Binge drinking in adolescents can affect memory and synaptic plasticity, but memory recovery in an enriched environment may depend on cannabinoid receptors and metabotropic glutamate receptors. The study suggests that an enriched environment has a positive impact on the brains exposed to water and alcohol.
Article
Neurosciences
Teresa A. Milner, Natalina H. Contoreggi, Fangmin Yu, Megan A. Johnson, Gang Wang, Clara Woods, Sanoara Mazid, Tracey A. Van Kempen, Elizabeth M. Waters, Bruce S. McEwen, Kenneth S. Korach, Michael J. Glass
Summary: The study found that administering ER beta agonists in peri-AOF female mice can suppress neurogenic hypertension, but it has no effect on age-matched male mice. Additionally, ER beta signaling in the PVN of female mice plays an important role in blood pressure regulation and contributes to hypertension susceptibility in females at an early stage of ovarian failure.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Review
Neurosciences
Marco Capogna, Pablo E. Castillo, Arianna Maffei
Summary: GABAergic interneurons are highly diverse and play a crucial role in regulating neural circuits for learning and memory. Inhibitory synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus and neocortex is essential for circuit dynamics, with different interneuron types supporting unique roles.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Ling Xu, Ming-Zhe Liu, Ya-Yue Yang, Yan Wang, Xiao-Xiao Hua, Li-Xia Du, Jian-Yu Zhu, Yang Shen, Yan-Qing Wang, Ling Zhang, Wen-Li Mi, Di Mu
Summary: In this study, the mechanisms of geraniol (GE) in sedation in mice were investigated. The results showed that GE reduced locomotion, relieved acute seizures, altered the EEG, and facilitated general anesthesia in mice. It was also found that GE inhibited the activity of the paraventricular thalamic nucleus (PVT) and induced sedation primarily by affecting GABAA receptors. These findings provide insights into the potential application of GE in aromatherapy and the development of sedatives and anaesthetics.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Hao Li, Praneeth Namburi, Jacob M. Olson, Matilde Borio, Mackenzie E. Lemieux, Anna Beyeler, Gwendolyn G. Calhoon, Natsuko Hitora-Imamura, Austin A. Coley, Avraham Libster, Aneesh Bal, Xin Jin, Huan Wang, Caroline Jia, Sourav R. Choudhury, Xi Shi, Ada C. Felix-Ortiz, Veronica de la Fuente, Vanessa P. Barth, Hunter O. King, Ehsan M. Izadmehr, Jasmin S. Revanna, Kanha Batra, Kyle B. Fischer, Laurel R. Keyes, Nancy Padilla-Coreano, Cody A. Siciliano, Kenneth M. McCullough, Romy Wichmann, Kerry J. Ressler, Ila R. Fiete, Feng Zhang, Yulong Li, Kay M. Tye
Summary: The study demonstrates that neurotensin-expressing neurons in the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) play a role in assigning positive or negative valence during associative learning through modulation of the basolateral amygdala (BLA). The study also shows that reward learning enhances calcium dynamics within the PVT-BLA:NT projection and increases NT concentrations in the BLA, while punishment learning reduces these dynamics and concentrations.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sasa Peter, Michiel M. ten Brinke, Jeffrey Stedehouder, Claudia M. Reinelt, Bin Wu, Haibo Zhou, Kuikui Zhou, Henk-Jan Boele, Steven A. Kushner, Min Goo Lee, Michael J. Schmeisser, Tobias M. Boeckers, Martijn Schonewille, Freek E. Hoebeek, Chris I. De Zeeuw
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2016)
Article
Neurosciences
Nicolas Gutierrez-Castellanos, Carla M. Da Silva-Matos, Kuikui Zhou, Cathrin B. Canto, Maria C. Renner, Linda M. C. Koene, Ozgecan Ozyildirim, Rolf Sprengel, Helmut W. Kessels, Chris I. De Zeeuw
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Catherine A. French, Maria F. Vinueza Veloz, Kuikui Zhou, Sasa Peter, Simon E. Fisher, Rui M. Costa, Chris De Zeeuw
MOLECULAR PSYCHIATRY
(2019)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yingjie Zhu, Gregory Nachtrab, Piper C. Keyes, William E. Allen, Liqun Luo, Xiaoke Chen
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yongmei Sun, Gaowei Chen, Kuikui Zhou, Yingjie Zhu
JOVE-JOURNAL OF VISUALIZED EXPERIMENTS
(2018)
Article
Immunology
Yadong Zhang, Xiangping Li, Kuikui Zhou, Mingkuan Zhou, Kai Xia, Yunlong Xu, Xiangzhou Sun, Yingjie Zhu, Chunyan Cui, Chunhua Deng
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2020)
Review
Behavioral Sciences
Kuikui Zhou, Lin Zhu, Guoqiang Hou, Xueyu Chen, Bo Chen, Chuanzhong Yang, Yingjie Zhu
Summary: The brain continuously processes diverse external information and changes in homeostasis. The thalamus is involved in salience processing, determining attention-capturing stimuli and regulating emotions and behaviors. Studies focus on the roles of distinct thalamic nuclei in salience processing and their connections to reward and pain processing, arousal, and attention control.
FRONTIERS IN BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Yunlong Xu, Chenyu Jiang, Junyan Wu, Peidong Liu, Xiaofei Deng, Yadong Zhang, Bo Peng, Yingjie Zhu
Summary: This study found that a ketogenic diet improved spatial learning, spatial memory, and working memory in 5XFAD mice, which was associated with restored number of neurons and synapses in the hippocampus and cortex. The ketogenic diet also reduced amyloid plaque deposition and microglial activation, leading to reduced neuroinflammation.
CNS NEUROSCIENCE & THERAPEUTICS
(2022)
Editorial Material
Biology
Gaowei Chen, Zijun Chen, Yingjie Zhu
Summary: A new brain circuit related to aversive states, such as fear or anxiety, has been identified in mice.
Letter
Neurosciences
Yun-Long Xu, Lin Zhu, Zi-Jun Chen, Xiao-Fei Deng, Pei-Dong Liu, Shan Li, Bing-Chun Lin, Chuan-Zhong Yang, Wei Xu, Kui-Kui Zhou, Ying-Jie Zhu
NEUROSCIENCE BULLETIN
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Zijun Chen, Gaowei Chen, Jiafeng Zhong, Shaolei Jiang, Shishi Lai, Hua Xu, Xiaofei Deng, Fengling Li, Shanshan Lu, Kuikui Zhou, Changlin Li, Zhongdong Liu, Xu Zhang, Yingjie Zhu
Summary: This study reveals the crucial role of neurotensin-positive neurons in the lateral septum (LSNts) in regulating hedonic feeding. The LSNts neurons project to the tuberal nucleus (TU) via GABA signaling to regulate hedonic feeding, while the neurotensin signal from LSNts -> the supramammillary nucleus (SUM) is sufficient to suppress overall feeding. In vivo calcium imaging and optogenetic manipulation demonstrate the activation and inhibition of specific populations of LSNts neurons during feeding, contributing to food seeking and consumption, respectively.
MOLECULAR PSYCHIATRY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kuikui Zhou, Hua Xu, Shanshan Lu, Shaolei Jiang, Guoqiang Hou, Xiaofei Deng, Miao He, Yingjie Zhu
Summary: This study investigates the afferent-specific circuitry of NAc and its role in controlling reward and aversion. The authors present evidence for two distinct pathways in the NAc that mediate positive reinforcement and aversion, respectively.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)