Neurobiology

SH3 and multiple ankyrin repeat domains 3 (SHANK3) haploinsufficiency is causative for the neurological features of Phelan-McDermid syndrome (PMDS), including a high risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We used unbiased, quantitative proteomics to identify changes in the phosphoproteome of Shank3-deficient neurons. Down-regulation of protein kinase B (PKB/Akt)-mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling resulted from enhanced phosphorylation and activation of serine/threonine protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) regulatory subunit, B56β, due to increased steady-state levels of its kinase, Cdc2-like kinase 2 (CLK2). Pharmacological and genetic activation of Akt or inhibition of CLK2 relieved synaptic deficits in Shank3-deficient and PMDS patient-derived neurons. CLK2 inhibition also restored normal sociability in a Shank3-deficient mouse model. Our study thereby provides a novel mechanistic and potentially therapeutic understanding of deregulated signaling downstream of Sh...

Cerebellar granule neurons receive inhibitory input from Golgi cells in the form of phasic and tonic currents that are mediated by postsynaptic and extrasynaptic GABA A receptors, respectively. Extrasynaptic receptors are thought to contain α 6 β x δ subunits. Here we review studies on ethanol (EtOH) modulation of these receptors, which have yielded contradictory results. Although studies with recombinant receptors expressed in Xenopus oocytes indicate that α 6 β 3 δ receptors are potently enhanced by acute exposure to low (≥3 mM) EtOH concentrations, this effect was not observed when these receptors were expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells. Slice recordings of cerebellar granule neurons have consistently shown that EtOH increases the frequency of phasic spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents (sIPSCs), as well as the tonic current amplitude and noise. However, there is a lack of consensus as to whether EtOH directly acts on extrasynaptic receptors or modulates them indirectly; i.e. via an increase in spillover of synaptically released GABA. It was recently demonstrated that an R to Q mutation of amino acid 100 of the α 6 subunit increases the effect of EtOH on both sIPSCs and tonic current. These electrophysiological findings have not been reproducible in our hands. Moreover, it was shown the α 6-R100Q mutation enhances sensitivity to the motor-impairing effects of EtOH in outbred Sprague-Dawley rats, but this was not observed in a line of rats selectively bred for high sensitivity to EtOH-induced motor alterations (Alcohol Non-Tolerant rats). We conclude that currently there is insufficient evidence conclusively supporting a direct potentiation of extrasynaptic GABA A receptors following acute EtOH exposure in cerebellar granule neurons.

Background-Adolescent rats are less sensitive to the motor-impairing effects of ethanol than adults. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying this age dependent effect of ethanol have yet to be fully elucidated. Method-Male rats of various ages were used to investigate ethanol-induced ataxia and its underlying cellular correlates. In addition, Purkinje neurons from adolescent and adult rats were recorded both in vivo and in vitro. Finally, PKCγ expression was determine in three brain regions in both adolescent and adult rats. Results-The present multi-methodological investigation confirms that adolescents are less sensitive to the motor impairing effects of ethanol, and this differential effect is not due to differential blood ethanol levels. In addition, we identify a particular cellular correlate that may underlie the reduced motor impairment. Specifically, the in vivo firing rate of cerebellar Purkinje neurons recorded from adolescent rats are insensitive to an acute ethanol challenge, while the firing rate of adult cerebellar Purkinje neurons are significantly depressed. Finally, it is demonstrated that PKCγ expression in the cortex and cerebellum mirrors the age-dependent effect of ethanol: adolescents have significantly less PKCγ expression compared to adults. Conclusions-Adolescents are less sensitive than adults to the motor-impairing effects of ethanol, and a similar effect is seen with in vivo electrophysiological recordings of cerebellar Purkinje neurons. While still under investigation, PKCγ expression mirrors the age effect of ethanol and may contribute to the age-dependent differences in the ataxic effects of ethanol.

Background-Studies with rodents suggest that acute ethanol exposure impairs information flow through the cerebellar cortex, in part, by increasing GABAergic input to granule cells. Experiments suggest that an increase in the excitability of specialized GABAergic interneurons that regulate granule cell activity (i.e. Golgi cells, GoCs) contributes to this effect. In GoCs, ethanol increases spontaneous action potential firing frequency, decreased the afterhyperpolarization amplitude, and depolarized the membrane potential. Studies suggest that these effects could be mediated by inhibition of the Na + /K + ATPase. The purpose of this study was to characterize the potential role of other GoC conductances in the mechanism of action of ethanol. Methods-Computer modeling techniques and patch-clamp electrophysiological recordings with acute slices from rat cerebella were used for these studies. Results-Computer modeling suggested that modulation of subthreshold Na + channels, hyperpolarization activated currents and several K + conductances could explain some but not all actions of ethanol on GoCs. Electrophysiological studies did not find evidence consistent with a contribution of these conductances. Quinidine, a non-selective blocker of several types of channels (including several K + channels) that also antagonizes the Na + /K + ATPase, reduced the effect of ethanol on GoC firing. Conclusions-These findings lend further support to the conclusion that ethanol increases GoC excitability via modulation of the Na + /K + ATPase, and suggest that a quinidine-sensitive K + channel may also play a role in the mechanism of action of ethanol.

Golgi cells (GoCs) are specialized interneurons that provide inhibitory input to granule cells in the cerebellar cortex. GoCs are pacemaker neurons that spontaneously fire action potentials, triggering spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents in granule cells and also contributing to the generation tonic GABA A receptor-mediated currents in granule cells. In turn, granule cell axons provide feedback glutamatergic input to GoCs. It has been shown that high frequency stimulation of granule cell axons induces a transient pause in GoC firing in a type 2-metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR2)-dependent manner. Here, we investigated the effect ethanol on the pause of GoC firing induced by high frequency stimulation of granule cell axons. GoC electrophysiological recordings were performed in parasagittal cerebellar vermis slices from postnatal day 23 to 26 rats. Loose-patch cell-attached recordings revealed that ethanol (40 mM) reversibly decreases the pause duration. An antagonist of mGluR2 reduced the pause duration but did not affect the effect of ethanol. Whole-cell voltage-clamp recordings showed that currents evoked by an mGluR2 agonist were not significantly affected by ethanol. Perforated-patch experiments in which hyperpolarizing and depolarizing currents were injected into GoCs demonstrated that there is an inverse relationship between spontaneous firing and pause duration. Slight inhibition of the Na + /K + pump mimicked the effect of ethanol on pause duration. In conclusion, ethanol reduces the granule cell axon-mediated feedback mechanism by reducing the input responsiveness of GoCs. This would result in a transient increase of GABA A receptor-mediated inhibition of granule cells, limiting information flow at the input stage of the cerebellar cortex.

Acute alcohol consumption causes deficits in motor coordination and gait, suggesting an involvement of cerebellar circuits, which play a role in the fine adjustment of movements and in motor learning. It has previously been shown that ethanol modulates inhibitory transmission in the cerebellum and affects synaptic transmission and plasticity at excitatory climbing fiber (CF) to Purkinje cell synapses. However, it has not been examined thus far how acute ethanol application affects long-term depression (LTD) and long-term potentiation (LTP) at excitatory parallel fiber (PF) to Purkinje cell synapses, which are assumed to mediate forms of cerebellar motor learning. To examine ethanol effects on PF synaptic transmission and plasticity, we performed whole cell patch-clamp recordings from Purkinje cells in rat cerebellar slices. We found that ethanol (50 mM) selectively blocked PF–LTD induction, whereas it did not change the amplitude of excitatory postsynaptic currents at PF synapses. I...

Cerebellar Purkinje neurons (PNs) receive inhibitory GABAergic input from stellate and basket cells, which are located in the outer and inner portions of the molecular layer, respectively. Ethanol (EtOH) was recently shown to increase GABAergic transmission at PNs via a mechanism that involves enhanced calcium release from presynaptic internal stores (Kelm et al., J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 323:356-64, 2007). Here, we further characterized the effect of EtOH on GABA release and assessed its impact on PN excitability. Using whole-cell patch-clamp electrophysiological techniques in cerebellar vermis parasagittal slices, we found that EtOH acutely increases the frequency but not the amplitude or half-width of miniature and spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs). EtOH significantly increased the amplitude and decreased the paired-pulse ratio of IPSCs evoked by stimulation in the outer but not inner molecular layer. In current-clamp, EtOH decreased both the amplitude of EPSPs evoked in PNs by granule cell axon stimulation and the number of action potentials triggered by these events; these effects depended on GABA A receptor activation as they were not observed in presence of bicuculline. Loose-patch cell-attached PN recordings revealed that neither the spontaneous action potential firing frequency nor the coefficient of variation of the interspike interval were altered by acute EtOH exposure. These findings suggest that EtOH differentially affects GABAergic transmission at stellate cell-and basket cell-to-PN synapses and that it modulates PN firing triggered by granule cell axonal input. These effects could be in part responsible for the cerebellar impairments associated with acute EtOH intoxication.

Thiocolchicoside (TCC) is used clinically for its muscle relaxant, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic properties, and it has been shown to interact with g-aminobutyric acid (GABA) type A receptors (GABA A Rs) and strychnine-sensitive glycine receptors in the rat central nervous system. In contrast to a proposed agonistic action at these two types of inhibitory receptors, pharmacological evidence has shown that, under certain conditions, TCC manifests convulsant activity in animals and humans. We now show that the phasic and tonic GABA A R-mediated currents recorded from Purkinje cells and granule neurons, respectively, in parasagittal cerebellar slices from adult male rats were inhibited by TCC in a concentration-dependent manner. The median inhibitory concentrations of TCC for these effects were w0.15 and w0.9 mM, respectively. TCC did not potentiate GABA B R-mediated currents in hippocampal slices, suggesting that its muscle relaxant action is not mediated by GABA B Rs. Intraperitoneal injection of TCC in rats either alone or in combination with negative modulators of GABAergic transmission revealed convulsant and proconvulsant actions of this drug. Our data, consistent with clinical observations of the epileptogenic effect of this compound, suggest that TCC is a potent competitive antagonist of GABA A R function.

Alcohol-induced alterations of cerebellar function cause motor coordination impairments that are responsible for millions of injuries and deaths worldwide. Cognitive deficits associated with alcoholism are also a consequence of cerebellar dysfunction. The mechanisms responsible for these effects of ethanol are poorly understood. Recent studies have identified neurons in the input layer of the cerebellar cortex as important ethanol targets. In this layer, granule cells (GrCs) receive the majority of sensory inputs to the cerebellum through the mossy fibers. Information flow at these neurons is gated by a specialized pacemaker interneuron known as the Golgi cell, which provides divergent GABAergic input to thousands of GrCs. In vivo electrophysiological experiments have previously shown that acute ethanol exposure abolishes GrC responsiveness to sensory inputs carried by mossy fibers. Slice electrophysiological studies suggest that ethanol causes this effect by potentiating GABAergic transmission at Golgi cell-to-GrC synapses through an increase in Golgi cell excitability. Using patch-clamp electrophysiological techniques in cerebellar slices and computer modeling, we show here that ethanol excites Golgi cells by inhibiting the Na + /K + ATPase. Voltage-clamp recordings of Na + /K + ATPase currents indicated that ethanol partially inhibits this pump and this effect could be mimicked by low concentrations of ouabain. Partial inhibition of Na + /K + ATPase function in a computer model of the Golgi cell reproduced these experimental findings. These results establish a novel mechanism of action of ethanol on neuronal excitability, which likely has a role in ethanol-induced cerebellar dysfunction and may also contribute to neuronal functional alterations in other brain regions.

In Huntington's disease (HD), whether transneuronal spreading of mutant huntingtin (mHTT) occurs and its contribution to non-cell autonomous damage in brain networks is largely unknown. We found mHTT spreading in three different neural network models: human neurons integrated in the neural network of organotypic brain slices of HD mouse model, an ex vivo corticostriatal slice model and the corticostriatal pathway in vivo. Transneuronal propagation of mHTT was blocked by two different botulinum neurotoxins, each known for specifically inactivating a single critical component of the synaptic vesicle fusion machinery. Moreover, healthy human neurons in HD mouse model brain slices displayed non-cell autonomous changes in morphological integrity that were more pronounced when these neurons bore mHTT aggregates. Altogether, our findings suggest that transneuronal propagation of mHTT might be an important and underestimated contributor to the pathophysiology of HD.

One of the most consistent findings in schizophrenia is the decreased expression of the GABA synthesizing enzymes GAD 67 and GAD 65 in specific interneuron populations. This dysfunction is observed in distributed brain regions including the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and cerebellum. In an effort to understand the mechanisms for this GABA deficit, we investigated the effect of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist phencyclidine (PCP), which elicits schizophrenia-like symptoms in both humans and animal models, in a chronic, low-dose exposure paradigm. Adult rats were given PCP at a dose of 2.58 mg/kg/day i.p. for a month, after which levels of various GABAergic cell mRNAs and other neuromodulators were examined in the cerebellum by RT-qPCR. Administration of PCP decreased the expression of GAD 67 , GAD 65 , and the presynaptic GABA transporter GAT-1, and increased GABA A receptor subunits similar to those seen in patients with schizophrenia. Additionally, we found that the mRNA levels of two Golgi cell selective NMDAR subunits, NR2B and NR2D, were decreased in PCP treated rats. Furthermore, we localized the deficits in GAD 67 expression solely to these interneurons. Slice electrophysiological studies showed that spontaneous firing of Golgi cells was reduced by acute exposure to low dose PCP, suggesting that these neurons are particularly vulnerable to NMDA receptor antagonism. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that chronic exposure to low levels of PCP in rats mimics the GABAergic alterations reported in the cerebellum of patients with schizophrenia (Bullock et al., Am

Neuroligin 2 (Nlgn2) is a synaptic adhesion protein that plays a central role in the maturation and function of inhibitory synapses. Nlgn2 mutations have been associated with psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, and in mice, deletion of Nlgn2 results in a pronounced anxiety phenotype. To date, however, the molecular and cellular mechanisms linking Nlgn2 deletion to psychiatric phenotypes remain completely unknown. The aim of this study was therefore to define the role of Nlgn2 in anxiety-related neural circuits. To this end, we used a combination of behavioral, immunohistochemical, and electrophysiological approaches in Nlgn2 knockout (KO) mice to expand the behavioral characterization of these mice and to assess the functional consequences of Nlgn2 deletion in the amygdala. Moreover, we investigated the differential activation of anxiety-related circuits in Nlgn2 KO mice using a cFOS activation assay following exposure to an anxiogenic stimulus. We found that Nlgn2 is prese...

Aversive experiences can lead to complex behavioral adaptations including increased levels of anxiety and fear generalization. The neuronal mechanisms underlying such maladaptive behavioral changes, however, are poorly understood. Here, using a combination of behavioral, physiological and optogenetic approaches in mouse, we identify a specific subpopulation of central amygdala neurons expressing protein kinase C δ (PKCδ) as key elements of the neuronal circuitry controlling anxiety. Moreover, we show that aversive experiences induce anxiety and fear generalization by regulating the activity of PKCδ + neurons via extrasynaptic inhibition mediated by α 5 subunit-containing GABA A receptors. Our findings reveal that the neuronal circuits that mediate fear and anxiety overlap at the level of defined subpopulations of central amygdala neurons and demonstrate that persistent changes in the excitability of a single cell type can orchestrate complex behavioral changes.

In the version of this article initially published, page ranges were missing for refs. 2 and 3 and the journal abbreviation was missing for ref. 21. They are, respectively, pp 1202-1212, pp 1213-1225 and Elife. The error has been corrected in the HTML and PDF versions of the article.

Memories about sensory experiences are tightly linked to the context in which they were formed. Memory contextualization is fundamental for the selection of appropriate behavioral reactions needed for survival, yet the underlying neuronal circuits are poorly understood. By combining trans-synaptic viral tracing and optogenetic manipulation, we found that the ventral hippocampus (vHC) and the amygdala, two key brain structures encoding context and emotional experiences, interact via multiple parallel pathways. A projection from the vHC to the basal amygdala mediates fear behavior elicited by a conditioned context, whereas a parallel projection from a distinct subset of vHC neurons onto midbrain-projecting neurons in the central amygdala is necessary for context-dependent retrieval of cued fear memories. Our findings demonstrate that two fundamentally distinct roles of context in fear memory retrieval are processed by distinct vHC output pathways, thereby allowing for the formation of...

When faced with threat, the survival of an organism is contingent upon the selection of appropriate active or passive behavioural responses. Freezing is an evolutionarily conserved passive fear response that has been used extensively to study the neuronal mechanisms of fear and fear conditioning in rodents. However, rodents also exhibit active responses such as flight under natural conditions. The central amygdala (CEA) is a forebrain structure vital for the acquisition and expression of conditioned fear responses, and the role of specific neuronal sub-populations of the CEA in freezing behaviour is well-established. Whether the CEA is also involved in flight behaviour, and how neuronal circuits for active and passive fear behaviour interact within the CEA, are not yet understood. Here, using in vivo optogenetics and extracellular recordings of identified cell types in a behavioural model in which mice switch between conditioned freezing and flight, we show that active and passive f...

Results: Results include the correlation of each of the anatomic regions in the atlas across each of the analysis methods. The FreeSurfer 5.1-5.3 correlation coefficients averaged 0.87 [0.76-0.93], and the FreeSurfer 5.3-ANTS correlation coefficients averaged 0.47 [0.19-0.67]. Of the 62 DKT regions, 16 showed discordant 'significance' of the diagnosis effect (FreeSurfer p < 0.05 and ANTS p > 0.05 or vice versa). Conclusions: Comprehensive data integration that facilitates comparison across experimental details is critical to developing a more complete understanding of the research results, both within and across studies. BrainVerse provides a tool that supports the annotation of experimental results with the necessary metadata needed to increase reproducibility of neuroimaging studies.

Fear extinction is an adaptive process whereby defensive responses are attenuated following repeated experience of prior fear-related stimuli without harm. The formation of extinction memories involves interactions between various corticolimbic structures, resulting in reduced central amygdala (CEA) output. Recent studies show, however, the CEA is not merely an output relay of fear responses but contains multiple neuronal subpopulations that interact to calibrate levels of fear responding. Here, by integrating behavioural, in vivo electrophysiological, anatomical and optogenetic approaches in mice we demonstrate that fear extinction produces reversible, stimulus- and context-specific changes in neuronal responses to conditioned stimuli in functionally and genetically defined cell types in the lateral (CEl) and medial (CEm) CEA. Moreover, we show these alterations are absent when extinction is deficient and that selective silencing of protein kinase C delta-expressing (PKCδ) CEl neur...

Interestingly, anxiety levels correlates with fear generalizations in rodents and humans (Duvarci, Bauer et al. 2009). Anxiety models Anxiety behavior, as a separate entity from fear, can be studied using different behavioral paradigms and, as previously mentioned, be triggered by fear a conditioning paradigm. These behavioral Figure 1. GABAAR structure and location. a | Pentameric structure of the GABAAR showing the pore permeable to chloride ions, the two GABA binding sites between α and β subunits, the benzodiazepine binding site (BZ site). In this latter site, histidine residues confer sensitivity to benzodiazepine. Importantly, a histidine to arginine mutation in the α subunit confers lack of sensitivity. b | Synaptic (turquoise) versus extrasynaptic (violet) location of GABAARs (adapted from Rudolph and Knoflach, 2011).