The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience
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Human brain imaging has revealed that acute pain results from activation of a network of brain regions, including the somatosensory, insular, prefrontal, and cingulate cortices. In contrast, many investigations report little or no alteration in brain activity associated with chronic pain, particularly neuropathic pain. It has been hypothesized that neuropathic pain results from misinterpretation of thalamocortical activity, and recent evidence has revealed altered thalamocortical rhythm in individuals with neuropathic pain. ⋯ Furthermore, thalamic inhibitory neurotransmitter content was significantly reduced (magnetic resonance spectroscopy), which was significantly correlated to the degree of functional connectivity between the somatosensory thalamus and cortical regions including the primary and secondary somatosensory cortices, anterior insula, and cerebellar cortex. These data suggest that chronic neuropathic pain is associated with altered thalamic anatomy and activity, which may result in disturbed thalamocortical circuits. This disturbed thalamocortical activity may result in the constant perception of pain.
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Many strong rewards, including abused drugs, also produce aversive effects that are poorly understood. For example, cocaine can produce aversive conditioning after its rewarding effects have dissipated, consistent with opponent process theory, but the neural mechanisms involved are not well known. ⋯ Finally, pharmacological excitation of the RMTg produced conditioned place aversion, whereas cocaine-induced avoidance behaviors in a runway operant paradigm were abolished by lesions of LHb efferents, lesions of the RMTg, or by optogenetic inactivation of the RMTg selectively during the period when LHb neurons are activated by cocaine. Together, these results indicate that LHb/RMTg pathways contribute critically to cocaine-induced avoidance behaviors, while also participating in reciprocally inhibitory interactions with dopamine neurons.
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Intravenous anesthetics exert a component of their actions via potentiating inhibitory neurotransmission mediated by γ-aminobutyric type-A receptors (GABAARs). Phasic and tonic inhibition is mediated by distinct populations of GABAARs, with the majority of phasic inhibition by subtypes composed of α1-3βγ2 subunits, whereas tonic inhibition is dependent on subtypes assembled from α4-6βδ subunits. To explore the contribution that these distinct forms of inhibition play in mediating intravenous anesthesia, we have used mice in which tyrosine residues 365/7 within the γ2 subunit are mutated to phenyalanines (Y365/7F). ⋯ Consistent with this, female Y365/7F, but not male Y365/7F, mice exhibited a dramatic increase in the duration of etomidate- and propofol-mediated hypnosis. Moreover, the amnestic actions of etomidate were selectively potentiated in female Y365/7F mice. Collectively, these observations suggest that potentiation of tonic inhibition mediated by α4 subunit containing GABAARs contributes to the hypnotic and amnestic actions of the intravenous anesthetics, etomidate and propofol.
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Memory consolidation requires gene expression regulation by transcription factors, which eventually may induce chromatin modifications as histone acetylation. This mechanism is regulated by histone acetylases and deacetylases. It is not yet clear whether memory consolidation always recruits histone acetylation or it is only engaged in more persistent memories. ⋯ Nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) transcription factor inhibition impaired memory persistence and, concomitantly, reduced the general level of H3 acetylation. Accordingly, we found an important increase in H3 acetylation at a specific NF-κB-regulated promoter region of the Camk2d gene, which was reversed by NF-kB inhibition. These results show for the first time that histone acetylation is a specific molecular signature of enduring memories.
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BACE1 is the rate-limiting enzyme that cleaves amyloid precursor protein (APP) to produce the amyloid β peptides that accumulate in Alzheimer's disease (AD). BACE1, which is elevated in AD patients and APP transgenic mice, also cleaves the β2-subunit of voltage-gated sodium channels (Navβ2). Although increased BACE1 levels are associated with Navβ2 cleavage in AD patients, whether Navβ2 cleavage occurs in APP mice had not yet been examined. ⋯ Both pyramidal neurons and inhibitory interneurons exhibited evidence of increased Navβ2 cleavage. Moreover, the magnitude of alterations in sodium channel subunits was associated with aberrant EEG activity and impairments in the Morris water maze. Together, these results suggest that altered processing of voltage-gated sodium channels may contribute to aberrant neuronal activity and cognitive deficits in AD.