Alvaro L. Garcia-Garcia

Direct Ventral Hippocampal-Prefrontal Input Is Required for Anxiety-Related Neural Activity and Behavior

The ventral hippocampus (vHPC), medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and basolateral amygdala (BLA) are each required for the expression of anxiety-like behavior. Yet the role of each individual element of the circuit is unclear. The projection from the vHPC to the mPFC has been implicated in anxiety-related neural synchrony and spatial representations of aversion. The role of this projection was examined using multi-site neural recordings combined with optogenetic terminal inhibition. Inhibition of vHPC input to the mPFC disrupted anxiety and mPFC representations of aversion, and reduced theta synchrony in a pathway-, frequency- and task-specific manner. Moreover, bilateral, but not unilateral, inhibition altered physiological correlates of anxiety in the BLA, mimicking a safety-like state. These results reveal a specific role for the vHPC-mPFC projection in anxiety-related behavior and the spatial representation of aversive information within the mPFC.

P5-HT 1A receptors in mood and anxiety: recent insights into autoreceptor versus heteroreceptor function

RationaleSerotonin (5-HT) neurotransmission is intimately linked to anxiety and depression and a diverse body of evidence supports the involvement of the main inhibitory serotonergic receptor, the serotonin-1A (5-HT1A) subtype, in both disorders.ObjectivesIn this review, we examine the function of 5-HT1A receptor subpopulations and re-interpret our understanding of their role in mental illness in light of new data, separating both spatial (autoreceptor versus heteroreceptor) and the temporal (developmental versus adult) roles of the endogenous 5-HT1A receptors, emphasizing their distinct actions in mediating anxiety and depression-like behaviors.ResultsIt is difficult to unambiguously distinguish the effects of different populations of the 5-HT1A receptors with traditional genetic animal models and pharmacological approaches. However, with the advent of novel genetic systems and subpopulation-selective pharmacological agents, direct evidence for the distinct roles of these populations in governing emotion-related behavior is emerging.ConclusionsThere is strong and growing evidence for a functional dissociation between auto- and heteroreceptor populations in mediating anxiety and depressive-like behaviors, respectively. Furthermore, while it is well established that 5-HT1A receptors act developmentally to establish normal anxiety-like behaviors, the developmental role of 5-HT1A heteroreceptors is less clear, and the specific mechanisms underlying the developmental role of each subpopulation are likely to be key elements determining mood control in adult subjects.

Rethinking 5-HT1A Receptors: Emerging Modes of Inhibitory Feedback of Relevance to Emotion-Related Behavior

The complexities of the involvement of the serotonin transmitter system in numerous biological processes and psychiatric disorders is, to a substantial degree, attributable to the large number of serotonin receptor families and subtypes that have been identified and characterized for over four decades. Of these, the 5-HT(1A) receptor subtype, which was the first to be cloned and characterized, has received considerable attention based on its purported role in the etiology and treatment of mood and anxiety disorders. 5-HT(1A) receptors function both at presynaptic (autoreceptor) and postsynaptic (heteroreceptor) sites. Recent research has implicated distinct roles for these two populations of receptors in mediating emotion-related behavior. New concepts as to how 5-HT(1A) receptors function to control serotonergic tone throughout life were highlights of the proceedings of the 2012 Serotonin Club Meeting in Montpellier, France. Here, we review recent findings and current perspectives on functional aspects of 5-HT(1A) auto- and heteroreceptors with particular regard to their involvement in altered anxiety and mood states.

5-HT1A Autoreceptors in the Dorsal Raphe Nucleus Convey Vulnerability to Compulsive Cocaine Seeking

Cocaine addiction and depression are comorbid disorders. Although it is well recognized that 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT; serotonin) plays a central role in depression, our understanding of its role in addiction is notably lacking. The 5-HT system in the brain is carefully controlled by a combined process of regulating 5-HT neuron firing through 5-HT autoreceptors, neurotransmitter release, enzymatic degradation, and reuptake by transporters. This study tests the hypothesis that activation of 5-HT1A autoreceptors, which would lessen 5-HT neuron firing, contributes to cocaine-seeking behaviors. Using 5-HT neuron-specific reduction of 5-HT1A autoreceptor gene expression in mice, we demonstrate that 5-HT1A autoreceptors are necessary for cocaine conditioned place preference. In addition, using designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs (DREADDs) technology, we found that stimulation of the serotonergic dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) afferents to the nucleus accumbens (NAc) abolishes cocaine reward and promotes antidepressive-like behaviors. Finally, using a rat model of compulsive-like cocaine self-administration, we found that inhibition of dorsal raphe 5-HT1A autoreceptors attenuates cocaine self-administration in rats with 6 h extended access, but not 1 h access to the drug. Therefore, our findings suggest an important role for 5-HT1A autoreceptors, and thus DRNNAc 5-HT neuronal activity, in the etiology and vulnerability to cocaine reward and addiction. Moreover, our findings support a strategy for antagonizing 5-HT1A autoreceptors for treating cocaine addiction.

Serotonin Signaling through Prefrontal Cortex 5-HT1A Receptors during Adolescence Can Determine Baseline Mood-Related Behaviors

Lifelong homeostatic setpoints for mood-related behaviors emerge during adolescence. Serotonin (5-HT) plays an important role in refining the formation of brain circuits during sensitive developmental periods. In rodents, the role of 5-HT1A receptors in general and autoreceptors in particular has been characterized in anxiety. However, less is known about the role of 5-HT1A receptors in depression-related behavior. Here, we show that whole-life suppression of heteroreceptor expression results in a broad depression-like behavioral phenotype accompanied by physiological and cellular changes within medial prefrontal cortex-dorsal raphe proper (mPFC-DRN) circuitry. These changes include increased basal 5-HT in a mPFC that is hyporesponsive to stress and decreased basal 5-HT levels and firing rates in a DRN hyperactivated by the same stressor. Remarkably, loss of heteroreceptors in the PFC at adolescence is sufficient to recapitulate this depression-like behavioral syndrome. Our results suggest that targeting mPFC 5-HT1A heteroreceptors during adolescence in humans may have lifelong ramifications for depression and its treatment.

Disruption of 5-HT1A function in adolescence but not early adulthood leads to sustained increases of anxiety

Current evidence suggests that anxiety disorders have developmental origins. Early insults to the circuits that sub-serve emotional regulation are thought to cause disease later in life. Evidence from studies in mice demonstrate that the serotonergic system in general, and serotonin 1A (5-HT1A) receptors in particular, are critical during the early postnatal period for the normal development of circuits that subserve anxious behavior. However, little is known about the role of serotonin signaling through 5-HT1A receptors between the emergence of normal anxiety behavior after weaning, and the mature adult phenotype. Here, we use both transgenic and pharmacological approaches in male mice, to identify a sensitive period for 5-HT1A function in the stabilization of circuits mediating anxious behavior during adolescence. Using a transgenic approach we show that suppression of 5-HT1A receptor expression beginning in early adolescence results in an anxiety-like phenotype in the open field test. We further demonstrate that treatment with the 5-HT1A antagonist WAY 100,635 between postnatal day (P)35 and P50, but not at later timepoints, results in altered anxiety in ethologically based conflict tests like the open field test and elevated plus maze. This change in anxiety behavior occurs without impacting behavior in the more depression-related sucrose preference test or forced swim test. The treatment with WAY 100,635 does not affect adult 5-HT1A expression levels, but leads to increased expression of the serotonin transporter in the raphe, along with enhanced serotonin levels in both the prefrontal cortex and raphe that correlate with the behavioral changes observed in adult mice. This work demonstrates that signaling through 5-HT1A receptors during adolescence (a time when pathological anxiety emerges), but not early adulthood, is critical in regulating anxiety setpoints. These data suggest the possibility that brief interventions in the serotonergic system during adolescence could lead to profound and enduring changes in physiology and behavior.

Inhibition of norepinephrine signaling during a sensitive period disrupts locus coeruleus circuitry and emotional behaviors in adulthood

Deficits in arousal and stress responsiveness span numerous psychiatric developmental disorders including depression and anxiety. Arousal is supported by norepinephrine (NE) released from locus coeruleus (LC) neurons onto cortical and limbic areas. During development, the NE system matures in concert with increased exploration of the animal’s environment. While several psychiatric medications target the LC-NE system, the possibility that its modulation during discreet developmental periods can have long-lasting consequences for mental health has not been explored. We used a pharmacogenetic strategy in mice to reversibly inhibit NE signaling during brief developmental periods to determine the long-lasting impact on adult circuits mediating emotional behavior. We also examine whether disruption of NE signaling during development results in permanent changes within the adult LC-NE system. Finally, we test whether developmental exposure to the α-2 receptor agonist guanfacine recapitulates the effect seen with our pharmacogenetic strategy. Our results reveal a sensitive period (postnatal days 10-21) during which alterations in NE signaling result in long-term changes in adult emotional behavior. Changes in NE signaling during this sensitive period results in changes in stress-related LC neuron activity, alterations in α-2 autoreceptor function, and circuit-specific molecular changes in LC-NE target regions in adulthood. Treating animals with guanfacine during the sensitive period produced similar results. Our findings indicate an early critical role for NE in sculpting brain circuits that support adult emotional function.

Serotonin Subsystems Modulate Diverse and Opposite Behavioral Functions

Pioneering work showed that serotonin (5-HT) neurons have the unique capacity to engage in different and opposed aspects of motivated behaviors such as reward and punishment responses. These findings provided strong evidence about the functional heterogeneity of 5-HT neurons, and their possible engagement in multiple and behaviorally distinct neural subsystems. A recent study provides further compelling evidence supporting this notion, in which two ascending 5-HT circuits modulate opposed aspects of motivated behaviors.

5-HT1A Agonist Properties Contribute to a Robust Response to Vilazodone in the Novelty Suppressed Feeding Paradigm

Background: Differences in 5-HT1A receptor function have been implicated in vulnerability to depression and in response to treatment. Adding 5-HT1A partial agonists to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors has been touted as a strategy to increase their efficacy. Here we use the novelty suppressed feeding paradigm to compare the effects of vilazodone, a high-potency selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, with high affinity for 5-HT1A receptors to the reference selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluoxetine across several mouse strains that differ in their response to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Methods: To confirm 5-HT1A agonist activity, body temperature was measured after acute administration of vilazodone or fluoxetine, as administration of 5-HT1A agonists induces hypothermia. We next used 3 strains of mice to examine the effects of the drugs on latency in the novelty suppressed feeding, a paradigm generally sensitive to chronic but not acute effects of antidepressants. Results: Vilazodone induces robust hypothermia and blocks stress-induced hyperthermia in a 5-HT1A-dependent manner, consistent with agonist effects at 5-HT1A autoreceptors. In 129SvEv mice, vilazodone (10mg/kg/d) reduces the latency to eat in the novelty suppressed feeding test within 8 days, while no effect of fluoxetine (20mg/kg/d) was detected at that time. In contrast, both vilazodone and fluoxetine are effective at decreasing latency to eat in the novelty suppressed feeding paradigm in a strain with low autoreceptor levels. In mice with higher autoreceptor levels, no significant difference was detected between fluoxetine and vehicle (P=.8) or vilazodone and vehicle (P=.06). Conclusion: In mice, vilazodone may offer advantages in time of onset and efficacy over a reference selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor in the novelty suppressed feeding test.