Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, 10032, USA.
New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, 10032, USA.
Mol Brain. 2024 Jun 11;17(1):36. doi: 10.1186/s13041-024-01110-9.
Chronic perturbations of neuronal activity can evoke homeostatic and new setpoints for neurotransmission. Using chemogenetics to probe the relationship between neuronal cell types and behavior, we recently found reversible decreases in dopamine (DA) transmission, basal behavior, and amphetamine (AMPH) response following repeated stimulation of DA neurons in adult mice. It is unclear, however, whether altering DA neuronal activity via chemogenetics early in development leads to behavioral phenotypes that are reversible, as alterations of neuronal activity during developmentally sensitive periods might be expected to induce persistent effects on behavior. To examine the impact of developmental perturbation of DA neuron activity on basal and AMPH behavior, we expressed excitatory hM3D(Gq) in postnatal DA neurons in TH-Cre and WT mice. Basal and CNO- or AMPH-induced locomotion and stereotypy was evaluated in a longitudinal design, with clozapine N-oxide (CNO, 1.0 mg/kg) administered across adolescence (postnatal days 15-47). Repeated CNO administration did not impact basal behavior and only minimally reduced AMPH-induced hyperlocomotor response in adolescent TH-Cre mice relative to WT littermate controls. Following repeated CNO administration, however, AMPH-induced stereotypic behavior robustly decreased in adolescent TH-Cre mice relative to controls. A two-month CNO washout period rescued the diminished AMPH-induced stereotypic behavior. Our findings indicate that the homeostatic compensations that take place in response to chronic hM3D(Gq) stimulation during adolescence are temporary and are dependent on ongoing chemogenetic stimulation.
慢性神经元活动的干扰可以引起神经递质传递的稳态和新的设定点。我们最近使用化学遗传学来探究神经元细胞类型和行为之间的关系,发现成年小鼠中多巴胺(DA)神经元的重复刺激会导致 DA 传递、基础行为和安非他命(AMPH)反应的可逆性降低。然而,目前尚不清楚通过化学遗传学早期改变 DA 神经元活性是否会导致行为表型的可逆性,因为在发育敏感时期改变神经元活性可能会对行为产生持久的影响。为了研究 DA 神经元活性的发育性干扰对基础和 AMPH 行为的影响,我们在 TH-Cre 和 WT 小鼠的新生期 DA 神经元中表达了兴奋性 hM3D(Gq)。采用纵向设计评估了 CNO 或 AMPH 诱导的运动和刻板行为,在青春期(出生后第 15-47 天)给予氯氮平 N-氧化物(CNO,1.0mg/kg)。重复 CNO 给药不会影响基础行为,仅在青春期 TH-Cre 小鼠中轻度降低 AMPH 诱导的过度运动反应,与 WT 同窝对照相比。然而,在重复 CNO 给药后,AMPH 诱导的刻板行为在青春期 TH-Cre 小鼠中明显减少。为期两个月的 CNO 洗脱期挽救了减弱的 AMPH 诱导的刻板行为。我们的研究结果表明,在青春期慢性 hM3D(Gq)刺激下发生的代偿性反应是暂时的,并且依赖于持续的化学遗传学刺激。