Changes In mPFC Research Articles

Cocaine's effects on the reactivity of the medial prefrontal cortex to ventral tegmental area stimulation: optical imaging study in mice.

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is modulated by dopaminergic and glutamatergic neurons that project from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and disruption of this modulation might facilitate impulsive behaviors during cocaine intoxication. Here, we assessed the effects of acute cocaine (30 mg/kg, i.p.) on the reactivity of the PFC to VTA stimulation. Using a genetically encoded calcium indicator (GCaMP6f), we optically imaged the neuronal Ca2+ reactance in medial PFC (mPFC) in response to 'tonic-like' (5Hz) and 'phasic-like' (50 Hz) electrical VTA stimulation. The high temporal and spatial resolutions of our optical system allowed us to capture single Ca2+ neuronal transients from individual stimuli with 'tonic-like' stimulation and to visualize single neuronal activation evoked by 'phasic-like' VTA stimulation. 'Tonic-like' VTA stimulation induced a rapid increase in mean neuronal Ca2+ in mPFC followed by a plateau and recovery upon termination of stimulation. After cocaine, the mPFC sensitivity to 'tonic-like' VTA stimulation was attenuated, with a 50.4% reduction (P = 0.03) in the number of Ca2+ transients corresponding to single electrical stimuli but the recovery time was lengthened (4.30 ± 0.25 sec to 5.41 ± 0.24 sec, P = 0.03). 'Phasic-like' stimulation evoked a rapid Ca2+ fluorescence increase in mPFC with an immediate decay process, and while cocaine did not affect the peak response (7.17 ± 1.07% versus 7.13 ± 0.96%, P = 0.98) it shortened the recovery time to baseline (3.27 ± 0.11 sec versus 2.38 ± 0.23 sec, P = 0.005). Acute cocaine impairs reactivity of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) to ventral tegmental area stimulation, decreasing its sensitivity to 'tonic-like' stimulation and lengthening the recovery time to return to baseline while shortening it for phasic stimulation. These changes in mPFC might contribute to cocaine binging during intoxication.

Early life sleep disruption alters glutamate and dendritic spines in prefrontal cortex and impairs cognitive flexibility in prairie voles

Early life experiences are crucial for proper organization of excitatory synapses within the brain, with outsized effects on late-maturing, experience-dependent regions such as the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Previous work in our lab showed that early life sleep disruption (ELSD) from postnatal days 14–21 in the highly social prairie vole results in long lasting impairments in social behavior. Here, we further hypothesized that ELSD alters glutamatergic synapses in mPFC, thereby affecting cognitive flexibility, an mPFC-dependent behavior. ELSD caused impaired cued fear extinction (indicating cognitive inflexibility), increased dendritic spine density, and decreased glutamate immunogold-labeling in vesicular glutamate transporter 1 (vGLUT1)-labeled presynaptic nerve terminals within mPFC. Our results have profound implications for neurodevelopmental disorders in humans such as autism spectrum disorder that also show poor sleep, impaired social behavior, cognitive inflexibility, as well as altered dendritic spine density and glutamate changes in mPFC, and imply that poor sleep may cause these changes.

Stress impacts corticoamygdalar connectivity in an age-dependent manner.

Stress is a socio-environmental risk factor for the development of psychiatric disorders, with the age of exposure potentially determining the outcome. Several brain regions mediate stress responsivity, with a prominent role of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and basolateral amygdala (BLA) and their reciprocal inhibitory connectivity. Here we investigated the impact of stress exposure during adolescence and adulthood on the activity of putative pyramidal neurons in the BLA and corticoamygdalar plasticity using in vivo electrophysiology. 155 male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to a combination of footshock/restraint stress in either adolescence (postnatal day 31-40) or adulthood (postnatal day 65-74). Both adolescent and adult stress increased the number of spontaneously active putative BLA pyramidal neurons 1-2 weeks, but not 5-6 weeks post stress. High-frequency stimulation (HFS) of BLA and mPFC depressed evoked spike probability in the mPFC and BLA, respectively, in adult but not adolescent rats. In contrast, an adult-like BLA HFS-induced decrease in spike probability of mPFC neurons was found 1-2 weeks post-adolescent stress. Changes in mPFC and BLA neuron discharge were found 1-2 weeks post-adult stress after BLA and mPFC HFS, respectively. All these changes were transient since they were not found 5-6 weeks post adolescent or adult stress. Our findings indicate that stress during adolescence may accelerate the development of BLA-PFC plasticity, probably due to BLA hyperactivity, which can also disrupt the reciprocal communication of BLA-mPFC after adult stress. Therefore, precocious BLA-mPFC connectivity alterations may represent an early adaptive stress response that ultimately may contribute to vulnerability to adult psychiatric disorders.

Social and olfactory experiences modify neuronal morphology of orbital frontal cortex.

Structural modifications in the dendritic morphology of neurons occur following many forms of experience, including exposure to drugs, complex housing, and training in specific behavioral tasks. The present study examined morphological changes in orbitofrontal (OFC) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) neurons of female rats following experience with a variety of social partners or nonsocial olfactory stimuli. We reasoned that experience with various social partners or olfactory stimuli, and the associated behavioral adaptations, would drive structural modifications in prefrontal cortex neurons engaged by these stimuli. Social experience was manipulated by providing rats with a novel cage-mate or housing the animal with the same cage-mate throughout the study. Similarly, olfactory experience was manipulated by introducing novel, nonsocial odors in the home cage or exposing the animals to the same home-cage odor throughout the study. Both forms of experience resulted in altered dendritic morphology in OFC neurons, whereas morphological changes in mPFC were comparatively small and limited to changes in spine density. These observations indicate that OFC and mPFC neurons respond differently to social and nonsocial olfactory stimulation in adulthood and join the growing body of data illustrating differential effects of experience on structural plasticity in OFC and mPFC. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Evidence for Similar Prefrontal Structural and Functional Alterations in Male and Female Rats Following Chronic Stress or Glucocorticoid Exposure.

Previous work of ours and others has documented regressive changes in neuronal architecture and function in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of male rats following chronic stress. As recent focus has shifted toward understanding whether chronic stress effects on mPFC are sexually dimorphic, here we undertake a comprehensive analysis to address this issue. First, we show that chronic variable stress (14-day daily exposure to different challenges) resulted in a comparable degree of adrenocortical hyperactivity, working memory impairment, and dendritic spine loss in mPFC pyramidal neurons in both sexes. Next, exposure of female rats to 21-day regimen of corticosterone resulted in a similar pattern of mPFC dendritic spine attrition and increase in spine volume. Finally, we examined the effects of another widely used regimen, chronic restraint stress (CRS, 21-day of daily 6-h restraint), on dendritic spine changes in mPFC in both sexes. CRS resulted in response decrements in adrenocortical output (habituation), and induced a pattern of consistent, but less widespread, dendritic spine loss similar to the foregoing challenges. Our data suggest that chronic stress or glucocorticoid exposure induces a relatively undifferentiated pattern of structural and functional alterations in mPFC in both males and females.

Adolescent cocaine exposure induces prolonged synaptic modifications in medial prefrontal cortex of adult rats.

Substance used during adolescent period increases the risk of psychiatric disorders in later life, but the underlying neural mechanisms remain unclear. We hypothesize that synaptic remodeling and changes of homeostasis in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) following adolescent cocaine exposure may last for a long time, and these modifications may contribute to behavioral deficiencies in adulthood. To address this hypothesis, rats were exposed to cocaine hydrochloride from postnatal day 28 (P28) to P42. When reared to adulthood, rats were subjected to behavioral tests. On P75 and P76, cocaine-experienced rats exhibited increased locomotive and anxiety-like behaviors, as well as impaired non-selective attention. In the cocaine-experienced rats, both levels of synapse-related proteins (synapsin I and PSD-95) and density of synapse and dendrite spine in mPFC were significantly decreased when compared to controls. Unexpected, the expression of molecules related to oxidative stress, inflammation and apoptosis showed no significant changes in mPFC following adolescent cocaine exposure. These findings suggested that adolescent exposure to cocaine induce long-term modification on synapses in mPFC, which might contribute to long-term behavioral outcomes in adulthood.

AGE-RELATED DIFFERENCES IN THE MODULATION OF RESTING-STATE FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY FOLLOWING REPETITIVE TRANSCRANIAL MAGNETIC STIMULATION

Resting-state intrinsic functional connectivity (rs-iFC) reveals that the brain is organized in several networks (Smith et al., PNAS.2009. Aug4;106(31):13040–5) that relate to cognition and behavior. Brain networks, particularly the Default-Mode Network (DMN) dynamics, can be disrupted by advancing age (Vidal-Piñeiro et al., FrontAgingNeurosci.2014. Sep25;6:256), which may relate to age-related cognitive decline. Non-invasive brain stimulation, such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), can modulate DMN expression and influence cognitive abilities (Eldaief et al., PNAS.2011. Dec27;108(52):21229–34). In the present study we examined whether the effects of rTMS on DMN connectivity differ between young and elders. Twenty-four young (mean age: 23.42±1.64) and twenty-seven healthy elders (mean age: 68.15±4.61) were randomly assigned to receive real (Nyoung=11, Nelders=15) or sham (Nyoung=13, Nelders=12) intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) over the left inferior parietal lobe (lIPL). Changes in rs-iFC induced by iTBS were investigated using seed-based approaches within DMN nodes (Fig.1). Neuroimaging data was analysed using FSL (http://fsl.fmrib.ox.ac.uk/fsl/). Statistical significance was set at p≤0.05 FWE-corrected, except when stated specifically. An interaction between age and rTMS in mPFC was revealed through seed-to-brain analyses (Fig.2A). A main effect of stimulation was evidenced within PMC and mPFC (Fig.2B). Changes in mPFC were mainly driven by a connectivity increase following rTMS in young participants (Fig.3A). Conversely, connectivity increases were restricted within PMC amongst elders (p<0.005 uncorrected; Fig.3B). Seed-to-seed analyses revealed increased mPFC connectivity in young (p<0.001), whereas in elders, regions showing increased connectivity were proximal to the stimulation site (lIPL: p=0.023; PMC: p<0.001 and rIPL: p<0.001). Amongst elders, greater functional responses to rTMS in mPFC regions were positively related to better baseline memory performance (r=0.686; p=0.014). Our results reveal that resting-state connectivity responses to iTBS within DMN are modulated by age. Advancing age appears to attenuate functional connectivity involving long-range connections, while it increases local connectivity. This pattern of effects is coherent with observational neuroimaging studies (Sala-Llonch et al., NeurobiolAging.2014. Oct;35(10):2193–202). Furthermore, ‘young-like’ responses to rTMS appear to be characteristic of elders with better preserved cognitive function. Further studies might investigate if particular connectivity responses to TMS are distinctive of elders at risk or in preclinical stages of dementia. Seed-based approaches used to explore the iTBS-induced intrinsic functional connectivity (iFC) modulation within the DMN. Through these analyses it was studied the iFC modulation between the stimulation site (represented as a flash) and left inferior parietal lobe (IIPL), right inferior parietal lobe (rIPL), posteromedial cortex (PMC), left hippocampus (IHC), right hippocampus (rHC) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) nodes. Figure 1A. Seed-to-brain approach: Representation of the stimulation site (flash) and the main regions included in the network analyses. Figure 1B. Seed-to-seed approach: Representation of the stimulation site (flash) and the six main DMN nodes selected to explore the iFC modulation in an isolated way. Interaction between stimulation and age. A significant interaction between stimulation and age in mPFC (FWE-corrected, p<0.05) is shown in green. Figure 2B. Main stimulation effect: A main effect of stimulation within PMC and mPFC areas of the DMN (FWE-corrected, p<0.05) is shown in red-yellow. iTBS effects in young group: In young group a significant iFC increase in mPFC after iTBS intervention compared with sham condition (FWE-corrected, p<0.05) is shown in red-yellow. Figure 3B. iTBS effects in elder group: In elder group a significant iFC increase in PMC compared to sham condition is shown at a lower threshold (p<0.005 uncorrected).

Mother gestational exposure to organophosphorus pesticide induces neuron and glia loss in daughter adult brain

ABSTRACTChlorpyrifos (CPF) is a widely used organophosphorus pesticide with developmental neurotoxicity such as morphogenesis toxicity. In the present study, we assessed the effects of prenatal CPF exposure on systemic parameters and cytoarchitecture of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in adulthood. Gestational dams were exposed to 5mg/kg/d of CPF during gestational days 13–17, while body weight, organ coefficient, and neuron and glia counts of offspring were determined on postnatal day 60. Our results showed that CPF treatment induced little or no effects on body weight and organ coefficients. There were also no significant pathological changes in mPFC. However, neuron and glia count analysis showed that CPF treatment reduced neuron and glia counts in anterior cingulate, prelimbic, and infralimbic areas of mPFC. The CPF react pattern was similar in both sexes, and there was no statistical difference in most of the sub-regions. Thus, our results revealed an embryonic origin brain deficit induced by gestational mother pesticide exposure.

Representational changes of latent strategies in rat medial prefrontal cortex precede changes in behaviour.

The ability to change behavioural strategies in the face of a changing world has been linked to the integrity of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) function in several species. While recording studies have found that mPFC representations reflect the strategy being used, lesion studies suggest that mPFC is necessary for changing strategy. Here we examine the relationship between representational changes in mPFC and behavioural strategy changes in the rat. We found that on tasks with a forced change in reward criterion, strategy-related representational transitions in mPFC occurred after animals learned that the reward contingency had changed, but before their behaviour changed. On tasks in which animals made their own strategic decisions, representational transitions in mPFC preceded changes in behaviour. These results suggest that mPFC does not merely reflect the action–selection policy of the animal, but rather that mPFC processes information related to a need for a change in strategy.

Early-life exposure to noise reduces mPFC astrocyte numbers and T-maze alternation/discrimination task performance in adult male rats.

In this experiment, we evaluated the long-term effects of noise by assessing both astrocyte changes in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and mPFC-related alternation/discrimination tasks. Twenty-one-day-old male rats were exposed during a period of 15 days to a standardized rats’ audiogram-fitted adaptation of a human noisy environment. We measured serum corticosterone (CORT) levels at the end of the exposure and periodically registered body weight gain. In order to evaluate the long-term effects of this exposure, we assessed the rats’ performance on the T-maze apparatus 3 months later. Astrocyte numbers and proliferative changes in mPFC were also evaluated at this stage. We found that environmental noise (EN) exposure significantly increased serum CORT levels and negatively affected the body weight gain curve. Accordingly, enduring effects of noise were demonstrated on mPFC. The ability to solve alternation/discrimination tasks was reduced, as well as the number of astroglial cells. We also found reduced cytogenesis among the mPFC areas evaluated. Our results support the idea that early exposure to environmental stressors may have long-lasting consequences affecting complex cognitive processes. These results also suggest that glial changes may become an important element behind the cognitive and morphological alterations accompanying the PFC changes seen in some stress-related pathologies.

Protective role of curcumin against sulfite-induced structural changes in rats’ medial prefrontal cortex

ObjectivesSodium metabisulfite as a food preservative can affect the central nervous system. Curcumin, the main ingredient of turmeric has neuroprotective activity. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of sulfite and curcumin on the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) using stereological methods.MethodsThirty rats were randomly divided into five groups. The rats in groups I–V received distilled water, olive oil, curcumin (100 mg/kg/day), sodium metabisulfite (25 mg/kg/day), and sulfite + curcumin, respectively, for 8 weeks. The brains were subjected to the stereological methods. Cavalieri and optical disector techniques were used to estimate the total volume of mPFC and the number of neurons and glial cells. Intersections counting were applied on the thick vertical uniform random sections to estimate the dendrites length, and classify the spines. Non-parametric tests were used to analyze the data.ResultsThe mean mPFC volume, neurons number, glia number, dendritic length, and total spines per neuron were 3.7 mm3, 365 000, 180 000, 1820 µm, and 1700 in distilled water group, respectively. A reduction was observed in the volume of mPFC (∼8%), number of neurons (∼15%), and number of glia (∼14%) in mPFC of the sulfite group compared to the control groups (P < 0.005). Beside, dendritic length per neuron (∼10%) and the total spines per neuron (mainly mushroom spines) (∼25%) were reduced in the sulfite group (P < 0.005).DiscussionThe sulfite-induced structural changes in mPFC and curcumin had a protective role against the changes in the rats.

Curcumin and sertraline prevent the reduction of the number of neurons and glial cells and the volume of rats' medial prefrontal cortex induced by stress.

Chronic stress induces morphological changes in the neurons of several brain regions, including medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). This region is involved in variety of behavioral tasks, including learning and memory. Our previous work showed that stress impaired function. The present work extends the earlier work to study mPFC in stressed and non-stressed rats with or without sertraline or curcumin treatments using stereological methods. Sertraline is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor and curcumin is the main ingredient of turmeric with neuroprotective effects. In this study, 42 male rats were randomly assigned to seven groups: stress + distilled water, stress + olive oil, stress + curcumin (100 mg/kg/day), stress + sertraline (10 mg/kg/day), curcumin, sertraline, and control groups. After 56 days, the right mPFC was removed. The volume of mPFC and its subdivisions and the total number of neurons and glia were estimated. The results showed ~8%, ~8%, and 24% decrease in the volume of the mPFC and its prelimbic and infralimbic subdivisions, respectively. However, the anterior cingulated cortex remained unchanged. Also, the total number of the neurons and glial cells was significantly reduced (11% and 5%, respectively) in stress (+distilled water or olive oil) group in comparison to the non-stressed rats (P<0.01). However, no significant reduction was observed in the volume of the mPFC and its subdivisions as well as the total number of the neurons and glial cells in stress + sertraline and stress + curcumin groups in comparison to the non-treated stressed rats (P<0.01). The result indicated that treatment of rats with curcumin and sertraline could prevent the stress-induced changes in mPFC.

Optogenetically evoked gamma oscillations are disturbed by cocaine administration

Drugs of abuse have enormous societal impact by degrading the cognitive abilities, emotional state and social behavior of addicted individuals. Among other events involved in the addiction cycle, the study of a single exposure to cocaine, and the contribution of the effects of that event to the continuous and further use of drugs of abuse are fundamental. Gamma oscillations are thought to be important neural correlates of cognitive processing in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) which include decision making, set shifting and working memory. It follows that cocaine exposure might modulate gamma oscillations, which could result in reduced cognitive ability. Parvalbumin-positive fast-spiking interneurons play an orchestrating role in gamma oscillation induction and it has been shown recently that gamma oscillations can be induced in an anesthetized animal using optogenetic techniques. We use a knock-in mouse model together with optogenetics and in vivo electrophysiology to study the effects of acute cocaine on PFC gamma oscillation as a step toward understanding the cortical changes that may underlie continuous use of stimulants. Our results show that acute cocaine administration increases entrainment of the gamma oscillation to the optogentically induced driving frequency. Our results also suggest that this modulation of gamma oscillations is driven trough activation of D1 receptors. The acute cocaine-mediated changes in mPFC may underlie the enhancement of attention and awareness commonly reported by cocaine users and may contribute to the further use and abuse of psychostimulants.

Learning-Induced Changes in mPFC–BLA Connections After Fear Conditioning, Extinction, and Reinstatement of Fear

The neural circuit linking the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the basolateral amygdala (BLA) has crucial roles in both the acquisition and the extinction of fear. However, the mechanism by which this circuit encodes fear and extinction remains unknown. In this study, we monitored changes in the magnitude of evoked field potentials (EFPs) in the mPFC-BLA and BLA-mPFC pathways following auditory fear conditioning and extinction, in freely moving rats. We report that extinction of fear is mediated by depression of the EFPs in the mPFC-BLA and by potentiation in the reciprocal pathway of BLA-mPFC. Interestingly, reinstatement of fear was associated with recovery of freezing and with reversal of the changes in EFPs that were observed following extinction in both pathways. The findings indicate that the mPFC-BLA circuit expresses differential changes following fear and extinction and point to dynamic and plastic changes underlying fear, extinction, and reinstatement. Manipulations targeting these different types of plasticity could constitute a therapeutic tool for the treatment of anxiety disorders.

Emotion-induced changes in human medial prefrontal cortex: II. During anticipatory anxiety.

Regional cerebral blood flow (BF) was examined in the human medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) with positron emission tomography during anticipatory anxiety. Transient anxiety was induced in normal subjects by having them anticipate a painful shock to the fingers of one hand. BF was decreased during anticipatory anxiety, relative to an eyes-closed resting condition, in two regions of the MPFC (Brodmann Areas 10/32 and 24/25). BF decreases in these areas were inversely correlated with anxiety self rating, such that the least anxious subjects exhibited the largest BF reductions, whereas the most anxious subjects showed no significant BF reduction or a slight increase. BF changes in MPFC and in the midbrain were correlated with each other and with anxiety self rating. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that BF reductions in MPFC, previously observed in cognitive tasks, reflect a dynamic balance between focused attention and subject anxiety and may occur from a functionally active baseline or default state. The characterization of such relationships within the human brain enables new insights into the integration of cognition and emotion.