A Prelimbic Cortex-Thalamus Circuit Bidirectionally Regulates Innate and Stress-Induced Anxiety-Like Behavior.

Autor: Sheng-Rong Zhang, Ding-Yu Wu, Rong Luo, Jian-Lin Wu, Hao Chen, Zi-Ming Li, Jia-Pai Zhuang, Neng-Yuan Hu, Xiao-Wen Li, Jian-Ming Yang, Tian-Ming Gao, Yi-Hua Chen
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journal of Neuroscience; 7/17/2024, Vol. 44 Issue 29, p1-15, 15p
Abstrakt: Anxiety-related disorders respond to cognitive behavioral therapies, which involved the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Previous studies have suggested that subregions of the mPFC have different and even opposite roles in regulating innate anxiety. However, the specific causal targets of their descending projections in modulating innate anxiety and stress-induced anxiety have yet to be fully elucidated. Here, we found that among the various downstream pathways of the prelimbic cortex (PL), a subregion of the mPFC, PLmediodorsal thalamic nucleus (MD) projection, and PL-ventral tegmental area (VTA) projection exhibited antagonistic effects on anxiety-like behavior, while the PL-MD projection but not PL-VTA projection was necessary for the animal to guide anxiety-related behavior. In addition, MD-projecting PL neurons bidirectionally regulated remote but not recent fear memory retrieval. Notably, restraint stress induced high-anxiety state accompanied by strengthening the excitatory inputs onto MD-projecting PL neurons, and inhibiting PL-MD pathway rescued the stress-induced anxiety. Our findings reveal that the activity of PL-MD pathway may be an essential factor to maintain certain level of anxiety, and stress increased the excitability of this pathway, leading to inappropriate emotional expression, and suggests that targeting specific PL circuits may aid the development of therapies for the treatment of stress-related disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Databáze: Complementary Index