scholarly journals Coordinated dysregulation of mRNAs and microRNAs in the rat medial prefrontal cortex following a history of alcohol dependence

2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 286-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
J D Tapocik ◽  
M Solomon ◽  
M Flanigan ◽  
M Meinhardt ◽  
E Barbier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Alcohol Dependence ◽  
Medial Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
History Of

scholarly journals History of Suicide Attempt Is Associated with Reduced Medial Prefrontal Cortex Activity during Emotional Decision-Making among Men with Schizophrenia: An Exploratory fMRI Study

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stéphane Potvin ◽  
Andràs Tikàsz ◽  
Stéphane Richard-Devantoy ◽  
Ovidiu Lungu ◽  
Alexandre Dumais
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Suicide Attempt ◽  
Medial Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Suicidal Attempt ◽  
Risky Decision ◽  
Fmri Study ◽  
History Of ◽  
Brain Reward ◽  
Suicidal Ideas

Despite the high prevalence of suicidal ideas/attempts in schizophrenia, only a handful of neuroimaging studies have examined the neurobiological differences associated with suicide risk in this population. The main objective of the current exploratory study is to examine the neurofunctional correlates associated with a history of suicide attempt in schizophrenia, using a risky decision-making task, in order to show alterations in brain reward regions in this population. Thirty-two male outpatients with schizophrenia were recruited: 13 patients with (SCZ + S) and 19 without a history of suicidal attempt (SCZ − S). Twenty-one healthy men with no history of mental disorders or suicidal attempt/idea were also recruited. Participants were scanned using fMRI while performing the Balloon Analogue Risk Task. A rapid event-related fMRI paradigm was used, separating decision and outcome events, and the explosion probabilities were included as parametric modulators. The most important finding of this study is that SCZ + S patients had reduced activations of the medial prefrontal cortex during the success outcome event (with parametric modulation), relative to both SCZ − S patients and controls, as illustrated by a spatial conjunction analysis. These exploratory results suggest that a history of suicidal attempt in schizophrenia is associated with blunted brain reward activity during emotional decision-making.

scholarly journals Aversive stimuli bias corticothalamic responses to motivationally significant cues

eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federica Lucantonio ◽  
Eunyoung Kim ◽  
Zhixiao Su ◽  
Anna J Chang ◽  
Bilal A Bari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Medial Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Information Flow ◽  
Paraventricular Nucleus ◽  
Prior Experience ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
Negative Bias ◽  
Behavioral Bias ◽  
Aversive Stimuli ◽  
History Of

Making predictions about future rewards or punishments is fundamental to adaptive behavior. These processes are influenced by prior experience. For example, prior exposure to aversive stimuli or stressors changes behavioral responses to negative- and positive-value predictive cues. Here, we demonstrate a role for medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) neurons projecting to the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT; mPFC→PVT) in this process. We found that a history of aversive stimuli negatively biased behavioral responses to motivationally relevant cues in mice and that this negative bias was associated with hyperactivity in mPFC→PVT neurons during exposure to those cues. Furthermore, artificially mimicking this hyperactive response with selective optogenetic excitation of the same pathway recapitulated the negative behavioral bias induced by aversive stimuli, whereas optogenetic inactivation of mPFC→PVT neurons prevented the development of the negative bias. Together, our results highlight how information flow within the mPFC→PVT circuit is critical for making predictions about motivationally-relevant outcomes as a function of prior experience.

scholarly journals Decreased Medial Prefrontal Cortex Glutamate Levels in Perimenopausal Women

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sidney Yap ◽  
Jessica Luki ◽  
Christopher C. Hanstock ◽  
Peter Seres ◽  
Tami Shandro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Medial Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Post Partum ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Resonance Spectroscopy ◽  
Female Hormone ◽  
Depressive Symptomology ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Perimenopausal Women ◽  
History Of

Objective: There is an increased risk of experiencing depression during perimenopause (PM), a period of rapidly changing female hormone concentrations. Women at particular risk of developing major depression (MD) during PM are those with history of mood sensitivity to female hormone fluctuations i.e., women with a history of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) and/or post-partum depression (PPD). Depressive symptomology has been associated with fluctuations of glutamate (Glu) levels in the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) in MD patients as well as PMDD and PPD patients. The objective of the study was to compare MPFC Glu levels in healthy perimenopausal and reproductive-aged (RD) women.Methods: Medial prefrontal cortex Glu levels in healthy perimenopausal (n = 15) and healthy RD women (n = 16) were compared via Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) scan using a 3 Tesla (T) magnet. Absence of depressive symptomology and psychiatric comorbidity was confirmed via semi-structured interview. Participants were scanned during the early follicular phase (FP) of the menstrual cycle (MC).Results: Mean MPFC Glu concentrations were decreased in the PM group compared to RD group (PM mean = 0.57 ± 0.03, RD mean = 0.63 ± 0.06, t = −3.84, df = 23.97, p = 0.001).Conclusion: Perimenopause is associated with decreases in MPFC Glu levels. This decrease may be contributing to the increased risk of experiencing depression during PM. Further research should assess MPFC Glu levels in perimenopausal women suffering from MD.

scholarly journals Punishment history biases corticothalamic responses to motivationally-significant stimuli

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federica Lucantonio ◽  
Zhixiao Su ◽  
Anna J. Chang ◽  
Bilal A. Bari ◽  
Jeremiah Y. Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Medial Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Information Flow ◽  
Paraventricular Nucleus ◽  
Prior Experience ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
Negative Bias ◽  
Behavioral Bias ◽  
Aversive Stimuli ◽  
History Of

Making predictions about future rewards or punishments is fundamental to adaptive behavior. These processes are influenced by prior experience. For example, prior exposure to aversive stimuli or stressors changes behavioral responses to negative- and positive-value predictive cues. Here, we demonstrate a role for medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) neurons projecting to the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT; mPFC→PVT) in this process. We found that a history of punishments negatively biased behavioral responses to motivationally-relevant stimuli in mice and that this negative bias was associated with hyperactivity in mPFC→PVT neurons during exposure to those cues. Furthermore, artificially mimicking this hyperactive response with selective optogenetic excitation of the same pathway recapitulated the punishmentinduced negative behavioral bias. Together, our results highlight how information flow within the mPFC→PVT circuit is critical for making predictions about imminent motivationally-relevant outcomes as a function of prior experience.

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