Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Bettina Reka Laszlo, Erika Kertes, Tamas Ollmann, Laszlo Peczely, Anita Kovacs, Zoltan Karadi, Laszlo Lenard, Kristof Laszlo
Summary: The neurotransmitter and neuromodulator neurotensin (NT) has been found to facilitate spatial learning and memory through the activation of DA D2 receptors in the central nucleus of amygdala (CeA).
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Jiaxin Tang, Chengmei Yang, Mengwen Shi, Weihai Chen
Summary: Conditioned avoidance responses (CAR) behavior is a widely used paradigm for studying aversive conditioning and defensive motivation behavior. This study found that activation of dopamine D-2 receptors in the shell of nucleus accumbens evokes CAR behavior, while activation of dopamine D-1 receptors and dorsolateral striatum does not. This suggests that the shell of nucleus accumbens is the critical brain region for dopamine to elicit CAR behavior, and activation of dopamine D-2 receptors in the shell of nucleus accumbens is sufficient and necessary for triggering CAR behavior.
BEHAVIOURAL BRAIN RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Siamak K. Sorooshyari, Nicholas Ouassil, Sarah J. Yang, Markita P. Landry
Summary: The emergence of new imaging tools has revolutionized our understanding of neurochemistry in brain development and cognition. In this study, near-infrared catecholamine nanosensors were used to image dopamine modulation in brain tissue slices. Machine learning techniques were applied to identify unique features of dopamine modulation related to stimulation strength and specific neuroanatomical regions. The results showed that machine learning could accurately distinguish dopamine release in different regions of the brain, which was not achievable with conventional statistical analysis. The study highlights the potential of machine learning as a powerful tool in differentiating neuroanatomical regions and detecting features not detectable by conventional statistical analysis.
ACS CHEMICAL NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Adrienne C. Loewke, Adelaide R. Minerva, Alexandra B. Nelson, Anatol C. Kreitzer, Lisa A. Gunaydin
Summary: The dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) plays a key role in controlling defensive behavior through specific top-down projections. The dmPFC-amygdala projection is involved in reflexive fear behavior, while the dmPFC-striatum projection regulates anxious avoidance behavior. These findings provide important insights into the neural mechanisms underlying anxiety disorders.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Wouter van Elzelingen, Jessica Goedhoop, Pascal Warnaar, Damiaan Denys, Tara Arbab, Ingo Willuhn
Summary: Dopamine signals in the striatum play a critical role in motivated behavior. The release and modulation of dopamine in different regions of the striatum vary, while prediction-error signals are limited to specific regions.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Stephanie Kullmann, Dominik Blum, Benjamin Assad Jaghutriz, Christoph Gassenmaier, Benjamin Bender, Hans-Ulrich Haering, Gerald Reischl, Hubert Preissl, Christian la Fougere, Andreas Fritsche, Matthias Reimold, Martin Heni
Summary: This study demonstrates that central administration of insulin can impact dopaminergic activity in the striatum, which in turn affects regional brain activity and connectivity. The interaction between insulin and dopamine and the regulation of whole-body metabolism through a complex network are further elucidated by our findings.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL ENDOCRINOLOGY & METABOLISM
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Jean-Pascal Morin, Emmanuel Rodriguez-Nava, Victor Manuel Torres-Garcia, Omar Alejandro Contreras-Vazquez, Cesar Armando Castellanos-Perez, Jorge Tovar-Diaz, Gabriel Roldan-Roldan
Summary: The sense of taste provides information regarding the nutrient content, safety or potential toxicity of an edible through a combination of innate and learned taste preferences. Recent evidence suggests a role of cholinergic muscarinic signaling in the amygdala for the learning and storage of emotional memories, particularly in conditioned taste aversion.
NEUROSCIENCE LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sophie Bagur, Julie M. Lefort, Marie M. Lacroix, Gaetan de Lavilleon, Cyril Herry, Mathilde Chouvaeff, Clara Billand, Helene Geoffroy, Karim Benchenane
Summary: Brain-body interactions play an important role in emotions, with the olfactory bulb transmitting 4 Hz breathing rhythm to the prefrontal cortex to regulate freezing maintenance during fear-related behavior in mice.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Giorgio Rizzi, Zhuoliang Li, Norbert Hogrefe, Kelly R. Tan
Summary: This study explored the involvement of midbrain neurons in conditioned learning and how GABA and glutamate cells affect fear-conditioned learning through specific connections. Inhibiting specific sub-circuits of dmCIN neurons led to varying impairments in learning, with Vglut2-expressing cells and Vgat-positive neurons associating with different stimuli. It suggests that each component of the network carries information relevant to different subdomains of the behavioral strategy.
Article
Neurosciences
Thomas Lapointe, Travis Francis, Kamrani Doray, Francesco Leri
Summary: The current study demonstrates that conditioned stimuli paired with foot-shock can enhance memory consolidation and the dopamine D3 receptor is implicated in mediating this response. The D3 receptor antagonist NGB-2904 blocks the effect of conditioned stimuli on memory consolidation.
Article
Neurosciences
Patrick A. F. Laing, Trevor Steward, Christopher G. Davey, Kim L. Felmingham, Miguel Angel Fullana, Bram Vervliet, Matthew D. Greaves, Bradford Moffat, Rebecca K. Glarin, Ben J. Harrison
Summary: This study investigates the neural basis of safety learning using advanced fMRI technology, and finds that safety learning is mediated through a cortico-striatal circuitry separate from broader cortical regions involved in processing standard safety signals.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Madelyn H. Ray, Mahsa Moaddab, Michael A. McDannald
Summary: Appropriate responding to threat and reward is crucial for survival. The nucleus accumbens core (NAcc) plays a significant role in supporting reward behavior and fully discriminating threat and safety cues. The study found that NAcc neurons showed the greatest firing change to danger and uncertainty cues, and there were distinct functional populations within the NAcc that signaled threat and bidirectional valence.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Toneisha Stubbs, Andrew Koemeter-Cox, James I. Bingman, Fangli Zhao, Anuradha Kalyanasundaram, Leslie A. Rowland, Muthu Periasamy, Calvin S. Carter, Val C. Sheffield, Candice C. Askwith, Kirk Mykytyn
Summary: A rod-shaped appendage called a primary cilium projects from most central neurons in the mammalian brain. Cilia are important for neuronal signaling and their dysfunction is associated with various neuropathologies. This study demonstrates that disrupting the localization of a specific ciliary GPCR, called dopamine receptor 1 (D-1), in neurons leads to obesity and reduced locomotor activity in male and female mice. Loss of a BBS protein or cilia on D-1-expressing neurons also reduces D-1-mediated signaling. These findings highlight the importance of neuronal cilia for proper GPCR signaling and shed light on the role of cilia in regulating weight and locomotor activity.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Klara Danielsson, Oona Lagstrom, Mia Ericson, Bo Soderpalm, Louise Adermark
Summary: The study suggests that repeated amphetamine exposure leads to selective effects on dopamine signaling in striatal subregions, explaining why tolerance develops towards the drug's rewarding effects but not its psychosis inducing properties.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Inigo Elguea-Aguinaco, Antonio Serrano-Munoz, Dimitrios Chrysostomou, Ibai Inziarte-Hidalgo, Simon Bogh, Nestor Arana-Arexolaleiba
Summary: This paper presents a novel strategy that combines real-time collision avoidance and machine learning for safe human-robot interaction in disassembly tasks. A goal-conditioned reinforcement learning approach is proposed to determine the removal direction of a peg, and the suitability of three state-of-the-art algorithms is evaluated. The results demonstrate the effectiveness, generalization, and transferability of the proposed approach with two collaborative robots.
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sarah J. Benbow, Timothy J. Strovas, Martin Darvas, Aleen Saxton, Brian C. Kraemer
HUMAN MOLECULAR GENETICS
(2020)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Eun-Gyung Lee, Jessica Tulloch, Sunny Chen, Lesley Leong, Aleen D. Saxton, Brian Kraemer, Martin Darvas, C. Dirk Keene, Andrew Shutes-David, Kaitlin Todd, Steve Millard, Chang-En Yu
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yan Dou, Soroosh Fatemi, Martin Darvas, Michael Gale, Warren Ladiges
JOURNAL OF INTERFERON AND CYTOKINE RESEARCH
(2020)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Chandrashekhar D. Borkar, Jonathan P. Fadok
Summary: Exaggerated defensive responses to perceived threat are characteristic of various anxiety disorders, but understanding the neurobiological mechanisms behind defensive behaviors can lead to therapeutic interventions. The modified fear conditioning paradigm allows for the study of freezing and flight responses simultaneously.
JOVE-JOURNAL OF VISUALIZED EXPERIMENTS
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Erik S. Carlson, Avery C. Hunker, Stefan G. Sandberg, Timothy M. Locke, Julianne M. Geller, Abigail G. Schindler, Steven A. Thomas, Martin Darvas, Paul E. M. Phillips, Larry S. Zweifel
Summary: The study reveals that cerebellar catecholamines play a role in cognitive behaviors, particularly in the lateral cerebellar nucleus (LCN). Norepinephrine is the major catecholamine in LCN, originating from locus coeruleus and a subset of Purkinje cells positive for TH staining. Deletion of TH in fibers innervating LCN results in impairments in sensorimotor integration, associative fear learning, response inhibition, and working memory.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Michael Wainberg, Tain Luquez, David M. Koelle, Ben Readhead, Christine Johnston, Martin Darvas, Cory C. Funk
Summary: Recent studies have reignited interest in the hypothesis that infectious agents, particularly herpesviruses, may contribute to Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis. These studies suggest that many key features of Alzheimer's disease, like amyloid beta production and neuroinflammation, may actually be protective responses to acute infection that become maladaptive in the case of chronic infection.
MOLECULAR PSYCHIATRY
(2021)
Editorial Material
Neurosciences
Chandrashekhar D. Borkar, Jonathan P. Fadok
Summary: The study identifies the hypothalamic dorsal premammillary nucleus as a critical node in coordinating diverse escape strategies by communicating with thalamic and midbrain regions. This provides new insights into understanding the neural circuits involved in complex behavioral responses to threat.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Nigel Whittle, Jonathan Fadok, Kathryn P. MacPherson, Robin Nguyen, Paolo Botta, Steffen B. E. Wolff, Christian Mueller, Cyril Herry, Philip Tovote, Andrew Holmes, Nicolas Singewald, Andreas Luethi, Stephane Ciocchi
Summary: Fear extinction involves the reduction of defensive responses following repeated exposure to fear-related stimuli without harm, with recent studies indicating the involvement of central amygdala inhibitory microcircuits in this process. These microcircuits produce reversible, stimulus- and context-specific changes in neuronal responses, absent in cases of deficient extinction, and impair fear extinction when PKC delta neurons are selectively silenced.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Silvan R. Urfer, Martin Darvas, Kalman Czeibert, Sara Sandor, Daniel E. L. Promislow, Kate E. Creevy, Eniko Kubinyi, Matt Kaeberlein
Summary: The study found significant positive correlations between amyloid beta (Aβ42) levels in the companion dog brain and age, as well as with cognitive dysfunction scale scores. These results support the suitability of the companion dog as a model for Alzheimer's disease.
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Claire E. Stelly, Jonathan P. Fadok
Summary: This study reveals that novel stress-related peptide pathways to the dopaminergic midbrain are crucial in threat generalization, aiding in distinguishing dangerous predictive stimuli from non-threatening stimuli.
Review
Behavioral Sciences
Nikki A. Puccetti, William J. Villano, Jonathan P. Fadok, Aaron S. Heller
Summary: This review integrates findings from both humans and non-human organisms to provide insights into the neural mechanisms that govern the temporal features of emotional states. Using the theory of affective chronometry as an organizing framework, the review describes the specific neural mechanisms and modulatory factors that determine the rise-time, intensity, and duration of emotional states.
NEUROSCIENCE AND BIOBEHAVIORAL REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Xin Fu, Eric Teboul, Grant L. Weiss, Pantelis Antonoudiou, Chandrashekhar D. Borkar, Jonathan P. Fadok, Jamie Maguire, Jeffrey G. Tasker
Summary: The authors study how the modulation of Gq activity in basolateral amygdala parvalbumin interneurons mediates the transitions between brain and behavioral states, particularly fear-related ones.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Lydia Smith Osborne, Anh Duorg, Alexis Resendez, Rupert Palme, Jonathan P. Fadok
Summary: Social species form dominance hierarchies to ensure survival and promote reproductive success. Female hierarchies are thought to be less despotic and rank is conferred by intrinsic traits. Both social buffering and elevated social status confer resilience to chronic stress. In this study, we investigate how female social hierarchies and individual traits influence stress resilience. The results show that stable female hierarchies emerge rapidly and individual traits are characteristic of rank. Female rank is associated with behavior, stress status, and neurobiology. Hierarchies exert context-specific influence upon stress outcomes.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Mariia Dorofeikova, Chandrashekhar D. Borkar, Katherine Weissmuller, Lydia Smith-Osborne, Samhita Basavanhalli, Erin Bean, Avery Smith, Anh Duong, Alexis Resendez, Jonathan P. Fadok
Summary: Social behavior deficits are common in psychiatric disorders, and acute stress can negatively impact social behavior. This study explored the effect of acute footshock stress on male and female mice's sociability. It was found that footshock stress increased defensive tail-rattling behavior in males, which was alleviated by alprazolam. However, alprazolam had no effect on female tail-rattling behavior. These results suggest that acute footshock stress induces sex-dependent alterations in defensiveness and the activation patterns during social approach.
Article
Neurosciences
Yuhan Wang, Safa Bouabid, Martin Darvas, Fu-Ming Zhou
EXPERIMENTAL NEUROLOGY
(2020)