Review
Behavioral Sciences
Anil Joshi, Marion Schott, Susanne Eva la Fleur, Michel Barrot
Summary: Food intake is a necessary behavior for all animals, but excessive consumption of fat and sugar can lead to obesity. This review provides insights into the impact of food intake on the striatal complex and the modulation of palatable food intake by different neurochemical systems.
NEUROSCIENCE AND BIOBEHAVIORAL REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Reproductive Biology
Queen Saikia, Ajit Hazarika, Jogen Chandra Kalita
Summary: This study investigates the potential of isoliquiritigenin (ISL) to enhance fertility in male mice with sexual dysfunction induced by the widely prescribed antidepressant paroxetine (PRX). The results show that PRX reduces organ weights, sperm count, intact acrosome, antioxidant levels, testosterone and nitric oxide (NO) levels, and increases sperm abnormalities and lipid peroxidation levels. PRX also causes damage in the testis and epididymis. However, co-administration of PRX with ISL alleviates the adverse effects and ISL alone shows overall improvements. Therefore, ISL may be helpful in managing sexual dysfunction.
REPRODUCTIVE TOXICOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Hannah F. Waguespack, Rafael S. Maior, Carolina Campos-Rodriguez, Jessica T. Jacobs, Ludise Malkova, Patrick A. Forcelli
Summary: Sensorimotor gating is disrupted in neuropsychiatric disorders, and prepulse inhibition (PPI) is a form of sensorimotor gating that has been widely studied in rodents. However, recent research shows differences in the circuitry controlling PPI between rodents and macaques. While the nucleus accumbens is a key modulatory node for PPI in rodents, its role in primates has yet to be investigated. In this study, we found that quinpirole disrupts PPI in macaques when infused into the nucleus accumbens, unlike muscimol which had no effect.
Article
Neurosciences
Ming F. Lu, Qiang Fu, Tian Y. Qiu, Jian H. Yang, Qing H. Peng, Zhen Z. Hu
Summary: This study reveals a new mechanism by which pCaMKII-GABA(B)R signaling can promote psychostimulant-induced behavioral sensitization. It was found that GABA(B)R in the nucleus accumbens affects the development of cocaine-induced behavioral sensitization by mediating its perinucleus internalization and membrane expression. Moreover, the membrane levels of GABA(B)R were decreased while the membrane expression of pCaMKII was increased after repeated cocaine treatment.
CNS NEUROSCIENCE & THERAPEUTICS
(2023)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Georgia E. Kirkpatrick, Paige M. Dingess, Jake A. Aadland, Travis E. Brown
Summary: This study investigates whether forced exercise can attenuate the incubation of high-fat food craving. The results suggest that high-intensity exercise can prevent the establishment of incubation of craving for high-fat foods and may reduce cue-induced maladaptive food-seeking behaviors.
Article
Neurosciences
Xinyi Zhou, Bifeng Wu, Wenhao Liu, Qian Xiao, Wei He, Ying Zhou, Pengfei Wei, Xu Zhang, Yue Liu, Jie Wang, Jufang He, Zhigang Zhang, Weidong Li, Liping Wang, Jie Tu
Summary: Research showed that DISC1-N-TM mice exhibited impaired risk avoidance, with reduced activity of fast-spiking neurons and lower action potential frequency in parvalbumin neurons in the nucleus accumbens compared to wild-type mice. Activation of NAcPV neurons using optogenetic tools rescued the impairment in risk avoidance in DISC1-N-TM mice. Inhibition of NAcPV neuron activity in PV-Cre mice mimicked the risk-avoidance impairment seen in DISC1-N-TM mice.
NEUROSCIENCE BULLETIN
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Olivia B. Levine, Mary Jane Skelly, John D. Miller, Jean K. Rivera-Irizarry, Sydney A. Rowson, Jeffrey F. DiBerto, Jennifer A. Rinker, Todd E. Thiele, Thomas L. Kash, Kristen E. Pleil
Summary: BNST neurons that synthesize CRF play a role in binge alcohol drinking and anxiety, with a sex-dependent PVTVGLUT2-BNSTCRF circuit identified. Chemogenetic inhibition of the PVT-BNST projection promoted binge alcohol drinking only in female mice, while activation reduced avoidance behavior in both sexes. Repeated binge drinking induced a female-like phenotype in the male PVT-BNSTCRF excitatory synapse without altering the function of PVTBNST neurons themselves.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Sinan Canpolat, Nazife Ulker, Ahmet Yardimci, Emre Tancan, Elif Sahin, Serap Ozer Yaman, Ozgur Bulmus, Ahmet Alver, Mete Ozcan
Summary: Sexual dysfunction is a common clinical condition often caused by the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) like paroxetine in men. Exercise, particularly through the hormone irisin, is being explored as a non-pharmacological approach to treat SSRI-induced sexual dysfunction. This study found that irisin can improve sexual motivation and copulatory performance in male rats with paroxetine-induced sexual dysfunction by increasing testosterone levels and gene expression related to sexual behaviors in the brain areas associated with motivation and copulation.
PSYCHONEUROENDOCRINOLOGY
(2022)
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Amrita R. Nair, Steve W. C. Chang
Summary: This study further explores the role of oxytocin in maintaining social relationships and its interaction with the endocannabinoid system.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Han Guo, Jian-Bo Jiang, Wei Xu, Mu-Tian Zhang, Hui Chen, Huan-Ying Shi, Lu Wang, Miao He, Michael Lazarus, Shan-Qun Li, Zhi-Li Huang, Wei-Min Qu
Summary: In this study, the authors found that neurons expressing calretinin in the parasubthalamic nucleus play a key role in the induction and maintenance of wakefulness associated with exploration. They demonstrate that these neurons regulate wakefulness by innervating the ventral tegmental area. These findings provide new insights into the neural circuits regulating wakefulness.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kelsey M. Vollmer, Lisa M. Green, Roger I. Grant, Kion T. Winston, Elizabeth M. Doncheck, Christopher W. Bowen, Jacqueline E. Paniccia, Rachel E. Clarke, Annika Tiller, Preston N. Siegler, Bogdan Bordieanu, Benjamin M. Siemsen, Adam R. Denton, Annaka M. Westphal, Thomas C. Jhou, Jennifer A. Rinker, Jacqueline F. McGinty, Michael D. Scofield, James M. Otis
Summary: This study reveals the impact of opioids on the suppression of maladaptive behaviors, elucidating a neural circuit involving the thalamus and the striatum that plays a crucial role in suppressing reward-seeking behaviors and can be rapidly disengaged by opioids.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kelsey M. Vollmer, Lisa M. Green, Roger I. Grant, Kion T. Winston, Elizabeth M. Doncheck, Christopher W. Bowen, Jacqueline E. Paniccia, Rachel E. Clarke, Annika Tiller, Preston N. Siegler, Bogdan Bordieanu, Benjamin M. Siemsen, Adam R. Denton, Annaka M. Westphal, Thomas C. Jhou, Jennifer A. Rinker, Jacqueline F. McGinty, Michael D. Scofield, James M. Otis
Summary: This study reveals a thalamoaccumbal brain circuit that is required for the suppression of reward seeking and is rapidly disengaged by opioids leading to unrestricted behavioral actions.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yang Li, Liang Qu, Nan Li, Xin Wang, Ping Wang, Shun-nan Ge, Xue-lian Wang
Summary: The study aimed to improve the success rate of rat jugular vein catheterization and the self-administration (SA) model through an optimized scheme. The results showed that the success rate in the optimized operation group was significantly higher than the traditional operation group. The optimized scheme made various improvements in materials and techniques, providing a more stable and efficient tool for basic research on drug addiction.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Xiao-Na Zhu, Jie Li, Gao-Lin Qiu, Lin Wang, Chen Lu, Yi-Ge Guo, Ke-Xin Yang, Fang Cai, Tao Xu, Ti-Fei Yuan, Ji Hu
Summary: Lasker's award-winning drug propofol is found to actively bind to the dopamine transporter (DAT) and relieve anhedonia by increasing dopamine accumulation in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). This study demonstrates the therapeutic potential of propofol against anhedonia and calls for future clinical investigations.
Article
Neurosciences
Kelle E. Nett, Alexa R. Zimbelman, Matthew S. McGregor, Vanessa Alizo Vera, Molly R. Harris, Ryan T. LaLumiere
Summary: Previous evidence suggests that the infralimbic cortex (IL) plays a role in inhibiting cocaine seeking behavior in rats. In this study, the researchers investigated whether IL activity and its outputs to the nucleus accumbens shell (NAshell) and amygdala are involved in encoding extinction contingencies following cocaine self-administration. They used optogenetic techniques to silence IL-NAshell or IL-amygdala activity after an unreinforced lever press during extinction training and found that inhibition of IL-NAshell or IL-amygdala activity impaired extinction retention.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
