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
Neurosciences
Takaki Yahiro, Naoya Kataoka, Kazuhiro Nakamura
Summary: This study investigated the roles of ascending thermosensory pathways from the lateral parabrachial nucleus (LPB) in avoidance behavior from innocuous heat and cold in male rats. The results showed that LPB-MnPO neurons mediate heat avoidance, while LPB-CeA neurons contribute to cold avoidance. Furthermore, skin cooling-induced thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue requires both LPB-MnPO and LPB-CeA neurons.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Review
Behavioral Sciences
Gilbert J. Kirouac
Summary: This review discusses the anatomical connections of the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) in the brain anxiety network and its role in promoting anxiety-related behaviors. Experimental findings show that the PVT receives signals from the cortex and hypothalamus, and modulates defensive responses by projecting to different brain regions. The PVT also plays a key role in social avoidance in rats.
FRONTIERS IN BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hidehisa Saito, Shizu Hidema, Ayano Otsuka, Jun Suzuki, Michio Kumagai, Akihiro Kanaya, Toru Murakami, Yusuke Takei, Kazutomo Saito, Shigekazu Sugino, Hiroaki Toyama, Ryuta Saito, Teiji Tominaga, Katsuhiko Nishimori, Masanori Yamauchi
Summary: The study found that oxytocin exerts its analgesic effect on painful stimulation at the supraspinal level through its action on the PAG region, and has a self-protective effect on unpleasant stimulation through the MeA and NAc regions.
BIOCHEMICAL AND BIOPHYSICAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Sa Li, Xinwen Dong, Gilbert J. Kirouac
Summary: Neurons in the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) respond to emotionally salient events and project densely to subcortical regions known to mediate adaptive behavioral responses, with recent tracing experiments revealing two intermixed populations of neurons that project to different subcortical regions. These neurons provide collateral innervation to a common set of forebrain regions, suggesting a potential broad regulatory role in influencing responses to physiological and psychological challenges.
BRAIN STRUCTURE & FUNCTION
(2021)
Article
Biology
Fan Wang, Yuge Chen, Yuxin Lin, Xuze Wang, Kaiyuan Li, Yong Han, Jintao Wu, Xingyi Shi, Zhenggang Zhu, Chaoying Long, Xiaojun Hu, Shumin Duan, Zhihua Gao
Summary: The CCK-expressing neurons in the LPBCCK directly project to the PVN and play a role in controlling defensive behaviors. Activation of LPBCCK neurons promotes aversion and defensive behaviors, while inhibition of LPBCCK neurons attenuates flight responses. Optogenetic experiments reveal that LPBCCK neurons control defensive behaviors by projecting axon terminals to the PVN.
Article
Clinical Neurology
Jennaya Christensen, Naomi MacPherson, Crystal Li, Glenn R. R. Yamakawa, Richelle Mychasiuk
Summary: Repeat mild traumatic brain injuries (RmTBI) have a significant impact on public health due to their association with chronic post-injury pathologies. The dysfunction of descending pain modulation (DPM) may play a role in these pathologies. One possible mechanism driving these changes is altered orexinergic system functioning.
JOURNAL OF HEADACHE AND PAIN
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Meimei Guo, Yuxiang Wu, Danhao Zheng, Lei Chen, Bingrui Xiong, Jinfeng Wu, Ke Li, Li Wang, Kangguang Lin, Zongze Zhang, Anne Manyande, Fuqiang Xu, Jie Wang, Mian Peng
Summary: This study found that preoperative sleep loss can amplify post-operative mechanical hyperalgesia. The study also revealed that sleep deprivation affects cerebral function and activity, including the metabolic kinetics in the striatum and midbrain, the functional connectivity between the nucleus accumbens and the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray, and the neuronal activity in these regions. This study highlights the importance of preoperative sleep management for surgical patients.
NEUROSCIENCE BULLETIN
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Qiying Ye, Jeremiah Nunez, Xiaobing Zhang
Summary: OTR-expressing PVT neurons play a significant role in regulating feeding behavior through modulation of glutamatergic synaptic transmission in the posterior basolateral amygdala (pBLA), nucleus accumbens core (NAcC), and local PVT neurons.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
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
Neurosciences
Jia Ryoo, Seahyung Park, Daesoo Kim
Summary: Animals have an innate motivation to explore unknown objects and environments. Photostimulation of a subset of medial preoptic area (MPA) neurons can increase exploration without causing place preference. Photoinhibition of these neurons does not lead to emotional changes, suggesting they can enhance innate exploration behavior.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Review
Neurosciences
Blake A. Kimmey, Nora M. McCall, Lisa M. Wooldridge, Theodore D. Satterthwaite, Gregory Corder
Summary: The use of opioid compounds for pain relief is effective in alleviating pain, although they have detrimental side effects. Opioids mainly affect the emotional and inferential appraisal of pain perception rather than the sensory qualities. Understanding the mechanisms of opioids is important for developing targeted analgesic treatments.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH
(2022)
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
Neurosciences
Gina-Isabelle Henze, Julian Konzok, Ludwig Kreuzpointner, Christoph Baertl, Marina Giglberger, Hannah Peter, Fabian Streit, Brigitte M. Kudielka, Peter Kirsch, Stefan Wuest
Summary: Although women and men differ in their overall stress reactivity, there are scarce studies on sex differences in stress regulation in the brain. The study found that men and women have different responses to psychosocial stress, with men exhibiting higher cortisol levels but no sex differences in affect or heart rate responses. The results suggest that there are differential stress reactions for women and men in identical structures, with a need to consider quantitative predictors such as sex-specific cortisol increases when exploring neural response differences.
SOCIAL COGNITIVE AND AFFECTIVE NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Edvin Vestin, Oona Lagstrom, Ana Domi, Mia Ericson, Bo Soderpalm, Louise Adermark
Summary: Amphetamine addiction is associated with neuroadaptations in the amygdala, which may contribute to compulsive drug taking and increase the risk for relapse. This study found that brief exposure to amphetamine induced long-lasting synaptic changes in different subregions of the amygdala, highlighting their relevance to relapse risk.
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Juliette A. Brown, Raluca Bugescu, Thomas A. Mayer, Adriana Gata-Garcia, Gizem Kurt, Hillary L. Woodworth, Gina M. Leinninger
Article
Cell Biology
Hillary L. Woodworth, Hannah M. Batchelor, Bethany G. Beekly, Raluca Bugescu, Juliette A. Brown, Gizem Kurt, Patrick M. Fuller, Gina M. Leinninger
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mary E. Kelly, Srinivasagan Ramkumar, Weizhong Sun, Crystal Colon Ortiz, Philip D. Kiser, Marcin Golczak, Johannes von Lintig
ACS CHEMICAL BIOLOGY
(2018)
Article
Hematology
Bradley P. Sullivan, Anna K. Kopec, Nikita Joshi, Holly Cline, Juliette A. Brown, Stephanie C. Bishop, Karen M. Kassel, Cheryl Rockwell, Nigel Mackman, James P. Luyendyk
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Maria I. Avrutsky, Crystal Colon Ortiz, Kendra V. Johnson, Anna M. Potenski, Claire W. Chen, Jacqueline M. Lawson, Alexandra J. White, Stephanie K. Yuen, Fatima N. Morales, Elisa Canepa, Scott Snipas, Guy S. Salvesen, Ying Y. Jean, Carol M. Troy
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2020)
Correction
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Maria I. Avrutsky, Crystal Colon Ortiz, Kendra V. Johnson, Anna M. Potenski, Claire W. Chen, Jacqueline M. Lawson, Alexandra J. White, Stephanie K. Yuen, Fatima N. Morales, Elisa Canepa, Scott Snipas, Guy S. Salvesen, Ying Y. Jean, Carol M. Troy
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2020)
Article
Neurosciences
Patricia Perez-Bonilla, Krystal Santiago-Colon, Jillian Matasovsky, Jariel Ramirez-Virella, Rabail Khan, Hannah Garver, Gregory Fink, Anne M. Dorrance, Gina M. Leinninger
Summary: Research on activating dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area using specific drugs found that activating neurons expressing neurotensin receptor-1 (NtsR1) can promote weight loss behaviors in mice without causing adverse effects.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Crystal Colon Ortiz, Anna Potenski, Jaqueline M. Lawson, Jade Smart, Carol M. Troy
Summary: This report provides a detailed method for using RVO mouse models to study hypoxic-ischemic injury in the neural retina, with recommendations for optimizing specific steps to achieve consistently successful occlusion rates. Adjusting the wait time after rose bengal administration and balancing laser output can limit experimental variability and improve occlusion success rate.
JOVE-JOURNAL OF VISUALIZED EXPERIMENTS
(2021)
Article
Psychology, Biological
Gizem Kurt, Nandan Kodur, Cristina Rivera Quiles, Chelsea Reynolds, Andrew Eagle, Tom Mayer, Juliette Brown, Anna Makela, Raluca Bugescu, Harim Delgado Seo, Quinn E. Carroll, Derek Daniels, A. J. Robison, Michelle Mazei-Robison, Gina Leinninger
Summary: The research suggests that LHA(Nts) neurons play a crucial role in modulating feeding and drinking behaviors based on timing and resource availability, particularly promoting drinking during the light cycle without the necessity for maintaining hydration balance.
PHYSIOLOGY & BEHAVIOR
(2022)
Review
Neurosciences
Juliette A. Brown, Hillary L. Woodworth, Gina M. Leinninger
FRONTIERS IN SYSTEMS NEUROSCIENCE
(2015)
Article
Neurosciences
Hillary L. Woodworth, Patricia A. Perez-Bonilla, Bethany G. Beekly, Trevor J. Lewis, Gina M. Leinninger
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Andreia Biolchi Mayer, Henrique de Oliveira Amaral, Danilo Gustavo R. de Oliveira, Gabriel Avohay Alves Campos, Priscilla Galante Ribeiro, Solange Cristina Rego Fernandes, Adolfo Carlos Barros de Souza, Raffael Hinio Araijo de Castro, Anamelia Lorenzetti Bocca, Marcia Renata Mortari
Summary: This study synthesized three bioinspired peptides based on fraternine and tested their effects in a Parkinson's disease model. The peptides fra-10 and fra-14 improved motor coordination, but most of the peptides were toxic at the applied doses. All three peptides reduced the intensity of lesion-induced rotations. The peptide fra-24 increased the number of TH+ neurons in the substantia nigra and reduced the concentration of the cytokine TNF-alpha, suggesting it has neuroprotective effects in Parkinson's disease.