Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ming Tatt Lee, Wei-Hao Peng, Hung-Wei Kan, Cheng-Chun Wu, Deng-Wu Wang, Yu-Cheng Ho
Summary: This article reviews the recent literature on the role of AMPA-glutamatergic neurotransmission in stress-induced maladaptive responses in emotional and mood-associated brain regions.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Wei-Hao Peng, Hung-Wei Kan, Yu-Cheng Ho
Summary: This study demonstrates that enduring exposure to psychological stress leads to a decrease in glutamatergic transmission in the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (vlPAG), causing depression-like behaviors. Enhancing the activity of glutamatergic neurons in the vlPAG alleviates depression-like behaviors.
BIOCHEMICAL AND BIOPHYSICAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Ming Tatt Lee, Wei-Hao Peng, Cheng-Chun Wu, Hung-Wei Kan, Deng-Wu Wang, Yu-Ning Teng, Yu-Cheng Ho
Summary: Chronic pain and depression often occur together in clinical populations. Chronic pain worsens the prevalence of depression, and depression increases the risk of chronic pain. The mechanisms underlying the comorbidity of chronic pain and depression remain unknown.
MOLECULAR NEUROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Yinan Du, Kexin Yu, Chuanting Yan, Chunling Wei, Qiaohua Zheng, Yanning Qiao, Yihui Liu, Jing Han, Wei Ren, Zhiqiang Liu
Summary: The endogenous opioid system, specifically the Mu-opioid receptors, play a crucial role in stress-induced analgesia. These receptors expressed in glutamatergic and gamma-aminobutyric acidergic neurons contribute to nociceptive modulation under various stress intensities.
Article
Neurosciences
Wei-Xiang Ma, Lei Li, Ling-Xi Kong, Hui Zhang, Ping-Chuan Yuan, Zhi-Li Huang, Yi-Qun Wang
Summary: This study investigates the monosynaptic inputs to glutamatergic neurons in the lateral periaqueductal gray (LPAG), which is involved in social responses, pain, and offensive and defensive behaviors. Using retrograde tracing systems and immunofluorescence analysis, the study reveals that 59 nuclei project monosynaptic inputs to LPAG glutamatergic neurons, with the hypothalamus being the most densely connected. Furthermore, the input neurons are colocalized with markers related to physiological behaviors.
CNS NEUROSCIENCE & THERAPEUTICS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Long Li, Romain Durand-de Cuttoli, Antonio V. Aubry, C. Joseph Burnett, Flurin Cathomas, Lyonna F. Parise, Kenny L. Chan, Carole Morel, Chongzhen Yuan, Yusuke Shimo, Hsiao-yun Lin, Jun Wang, Scott J. Russo
Summary: Research shows that following chronic social defeat stress, a subset of male and female mice tend to avoid social interaction with non-aggressive, same-sex juvenile C57BL/6J mice and do not exhibit context-dependent social reward after encounters. This avoidance behavior seems to be linked to the activation of specific stress-responsive neurons in the lateral septum, which interferes with social reward processing.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Long Li, Romain Durand-de Cuttoli, Antonio V. Aubry, C. Joseph Burnett, Flurin Cathomas, Lyonna F. Parise, Kenny L. Chan, Carole Morel, Chongzhen Yuan, Yusuke Shimo, Hsiao-yun Lin, Jun Wang, Scott J. Russo
Summary: Traumatic social experiences in humans can lead to psychiatric disorders. In rodents, little is known about the impact of social trauma on social reward. A study on the chronic social defeat stress (CSDS) model in mice suggests that previously rewarding social targets are perceived as threats in susceptible mice.
Article
Cell Biology
Di Zhang, Qi Shen, Xiaolei Wu, Da Xing
Summary: Accumulating evidence suggests that dysfunction in glutamatergic neurotransmission is involved in the pathophysiology and treatment of depression. Photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) has shown potential in regulating neuronal function both in vitro and in vivo. PBMT was found to alleviate glutamatergic dysfunction and exhibit significant antidepressant effects in mice exposed to chronic stress, as well as in a depression mouse model injected with corticosterone. This suggests that PBMT may hold promise as a therapeutic approach for depression.
OXIDATIVE MEDICINE AND CELLULAR LONGEVITY
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Hung-Wei Kan, Wei-Hao Peng, Cheng-Chun Wu, Deng-Wu Wang, Ming Tatt Lee, Yung-Kuo Lee, Tian-Huei Chu, Yu-Cheng Ho
Summary: This study explored the mechanisms underlying the antidepressant-like effects of scopolamine through its action in the vlPAG. Results demonstrated that scopolamine exerted antidepressant effects in a mouse model of depression induced by chronic restraint stress (CRS), and reversed the inhibition of glutamatergic transmission in the vlPAG caused by CRS. Additionally, the study found that the antidepressant effects of scopolamine depended on the activation of L-type voltage-dependent calcium channels (VDCC), resulting in the release of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and the engagement of the TrkB receptor and downstream mTORC1 signaling in the vlPAG.
PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Psychiatry
Dan Wang, Wentao Wang, Shujun Jiang, He Ma, Haifeng Lian, Fantao Meng, Jing Liu, Minghu Cui, Jingjing You, Cuilan Liu, Di Zhao, Fengai Hu, Dunjiang Liu, Chen Li
Summary: The lateral septum (LS) plays a key role in major depressive disorder (MDD), with the LS-PAG projection being an essential effector circuit for depression morbidity and treatment.
JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRIC RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Anesthesiology
Mehnaz Ferdousi, Patricia Calcagno, Morgane Clarke, Sonali Aggarwal, Connie Sanchez, Karen L. Smith, David J. Eyerman, John P. Kelly, Michelle Roche, David P. Finn
Summary: Chronic pain often coexists with anxiety and depression, impacting therapeutic outcomes. The role of endogenous mu-opioid receptor system and genetic background in chronic pain are poorly understood. Wistar-Kyoto rats show decreased responsiveness to morphine, suggesting a deficit in the descending inhibitory pain pathway that may underlie hyperalgesia in this genetically predisposed strain.
Article
Neurosciences
Seung Hoon Lee, Nam-Shik Kim, Miyeon Choi, Seung Yeon Ko, Sung Eun Wang, Hye-Ryeong Jo, Jee Young Seo, Yong-Seok Kim, Hyun Jin Kim, Hyun-Yong Lee, Joung-Hun Kim, Hyeon Son
Summary: The study revealed that neuritin promotes neurite outgrowth and enhances stress resilience through the HDAC5-LGI1 pathway in the hippocampus, suggesting a critical role in ameliorating pathological depression.
NEUROBIOLOGY OF STRESS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mi Kyoung Seo, Jung An Lee, Sehoon Jeong, Dae-Hyun Seog, Jung Goo Lee, Sung Woo Park
Summary: In an animal model of chronic unpredictable stress-induced depression, chronic treatment with the mGlu2/3 receptor antagonist LY341495 showed antidepressant effects possibly through the activation of hippocampal mTORC1 signaling.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biology
Shuyun Xiao, Valerie Michael, Richard Mooney
Summary: This study reveals that neurons suppressing vocalizations are activated by predator cues or inhibitory social contexts in mice. It also uncovers how the brain weighs factors promoting and suppressing vocal production, and how the activation of specific neurons influences the decision to vocalize in mice.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jessica A. Cooper, Makiah R. Nuutinen, Victoria M. Lawlor, Brittany A. M. DeVries, Elyssa M. Barrick, Shabnam Hossein, Daniel J. Cole, Chelsea Leonard, Emma C. Hahn, Andrew P. Teer, Grant S. Shields, George M. Slavich, Dost Ongur, J. Eric Jensen, Fei Du, Diego A. Pizzagalli, Michael T. Treadway
Summary: The study found evidence of an adaptive mPFC glutamate response to stress in healthy adults, which is notably impaired in patients with major depression. Stress impacts glutamate function in the mPFC, and this disruption is significant in individuals with MDD.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)