scholarly journals Adaptive disinhibitory gating by VIP interneurons permits associative learning

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine Krabbe ◽  
Enrica Paradiso ◽  
Simon D’Aquin ◽  
Yael Bitterman ◽  
Chun Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Associative Learning ◽  
Calcium Imaging ◽  
Basolateral Amygdala ◽  
Projection Neurons ◽  
Behavioral Adaptations ◽  
Aversive Events ◽  
Trigger Stimulus ◽  
Excitatory Projection ◽  
Specific Learning ◽  
General Dynamic

AbstractLearning drives behavioral adaptations necessary for survival. While plasticity of excitatory projection neurons during associative learning is studied extensively, little is known about the contributions of local interneurons. Using fear conditioning as a model for associative learning, we find that behaviorally relevant, salient stimuli cause learning by tapping into a local microcircuit consisting of precisely connected subtypes of inhibitory interneurons. By employing calcium imaging and optogenetics, we demonstrate that vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP)-expressing interneurons in the basolateral amygdala are activated by aversive events and provide an instructive disinhibitory signal for associative learning. Notably, VIP interneuron responses are plastic and shift from the instructive to the predictive cue upon memory formation. We describe a novel form of adaptive disinhibitory gating by VIP interneurons that allows to discriminate unexpected, important from irrelevant information, and might be a general dynamic circuit motif to trigger stimulus-specific learning, thereby ensuring appropriate behavioral adaptations to salient events.

scholarly journals Basolateral amygdala parvalbumin neurons report aversive prediction error to constrain fear learning

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna Oi-Yue Yau ◽  
Chanchanok Chaichim ◽  
John M. Power ◽  
Gavan P. McNally
Keyword(s):  
Prediction Error ◽  
Basolateral Amygdala ◽  
Projection Neuron ◽  
Fear Learning ◽  
Neuron Activity ◽  
Projection Neurons ◽  
Cell Type ◽  
Learning Mechanisms ◽  
Aversive Events ◽  
Cell Type Specific

AbstractAnimals, including humans, use prediction error to guide learning about danger in the environment. The basolateral amygdala (BLA) is obligatory for this learning and BLA excitatory projection neurons are instructed by aversive prediction error to form fear associations. Complex networks of inhibitory interneurons, dominated by parvalbumin (PV) expressing GABAergic neurons, form the intrinsic microcircuitry of the BLA to control projection neuron activity. Whether BLA PV interneurons are also sensitive to prediction error and how they use this error to control fear learning remains unknown. We used PV cell-type specific recording and manipulation approaches in male transgenic PV-Cre rats to address these issues. We show that BLA PV neurons control fear learning about aversive events but not learning about their omission. Furthermore, during fear learning BLA PV neurons express the activity signatures of aversive prediction error: greater activity to unexpected than expected aversive events and greater activity to better rather than poorer predictors of these events. Crucially, we show that BLA PV neurons act to limit fear learning across these variations in prediction error. Together, this demonstrates that prediction error instructs and regulates BLA fear association formation in a cell-type specific manner. Whereas BLA projection neurons use prediction error signals to form and store fear associations, BLA PV interneurons use prediction error signals to constrain fear association formation.Significance StatementThe capacity to predict sources of danger in the environment is essential for survival. This capacity is supported by associative learning mechanisms that are triggered when the danger experienced is greater than the danger expected. Here we show that the activity of parvalbumin positive GABAergic interneurons in the rat basolateral amygdala neurons report this difference between the danger expected and the danger experienced and that they use this difference to limit the amount of fear which is learned.

Dopamine Modulates Excitability of Basolateral Amygdala Neurons In Vitro

2005 ◽  
Vol 93 (3) ◽  
pp. 1598-1610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sven Kröner ◽  
J. Amiel Rosenkranz ◽  
Anthony A. Grace ◽  
German Barrionuevo
Keyword(s):  
Basolateral Amygdala ◽  
Neuronal Response ◽  
Brain Slices ◽  
Receptor Activation ◽  
D1 Receptor ◽  
In Vivo Studies ◽  
Projection Neurons ◽  
Direct Effects

The amygdala plays a role in affective behaviors, which are modulated by the dopamine (DA) innervation of the basolateral amygdala complex (BLA). Although in vivo studies indicate that activation of DA receptors alters BLA neuronal activity, it is unclear whether DA exerts direct effects on BLA neurons or whether it acts via indirect effects on BLA afferents. Using whole cell patch-clamp recordings in rat brain slices, we investigated the site and mechanisms through which DA regulates the excitability of BLA neurons. Dopamine enhanced the excitability of BLA projection neurons in response to somatic current injections via a postsynaptic effect. Dopamine D1 receptor activation increased excitability and evoked firing, whereas D2 receptor activation increased input resistance. Current- and voltage-clamp experiments in projection neurons showed that D1 receptor activation enhanced excitability by modulating a 4-aminopyridine- and α-dendrotoxin-sensitive, slowly inactivating K+ current. Furthermore, DA and D1 receptor activation increased evoked firing in fast-spiking BLA interneurons. Consistent with a postsynaptic modulation of interneuron excitability, DA also increased the frequency of spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents recorded in projection neurons without changing release of GABA. These data demonstrate that DA exerts direct effects on BLA projection neurons and indirect actions via modulation of interneurons that may work in concert to enhance the neuronal response to large, suprathreshold inputs, while suppressing weaker inputs.

scholarly journals Population coding of valence in the basolateral amygdala

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xian Zhang ◽  
Bo Li
Keyword(s):  
Associative Learning ◽  
Reversal Learning ◽  
Basolateral Amygdala ◽  
Population Coding ◽  
Neuronal Responses ◽  
Conditioned Stimuli ◽  
Reward And Punishment

AbstractThe basolateral amygdala (BLA) plays an important role in associative learning, by representing both conditioned stimuli (CSs) and unconditioned stimuli (USs) of positive and negative valences, and by forming associations between CSs and USs. However, how such associations are formed and updated during learning remains unclear. Here we show that associative learning driven by reward and punishment profoundly alters BLA neuronal responses at population levels, reducing noise correlations and transforming the representations of CSs to resemble the distinctive valence-specific representations of USs. This transformation is accompanied by the emergence of prevalent inhibitory CS and US responses, and by the plasticity of CS responses in individual BLA neurons. During reversal learning wherein the expected valences are reversed, BLA population CS representations are remapped onto ensembles representing the opposite valences and track the switching in valence-specific behavioral actions. Our results reveal how signals predictive of opposing valences in the BLA evolve during reward and punishment learning, and how these signals might be updated and used to guide flexible behaviors.

scholarly journals Temporally-precise basolateral amygdala activation is required for the formation of taste memories in gustatory cortex

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elor Arieli ◽  
Ron Gerbi ◽  
Mark Shein-Idelson ◽  
Anan Moran
Keyword(s):  
Basolateral Amygdala ◽  
Time Lag ◽  
Nucleus Basalis ◽  
Electrophysiological Recording ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Projection Neurons ◽  
Dynamic Activity ◽  
Gustatory Cortex ◽  
Taste Experience

AbstractLearning to associate malaise with the intake of novel food is critical for survival. Since food poisoning may take hours to affect, animals developed brain circuits to transform the current novel taste experience into a taste memory trace (TMT) and bridge this time lag. Ample studies showed that the basolateral amygdala (BLA), the nucleus basalis magnocellularis (NBM) and the gustatory cortex (GC) are involved in TMT formation and taste-malaise association. However, how dynamic activity across these brain regions during novel taste experience promotes the formation of these memories is currently unknown. We used the conditioned taste aversion (CTA) learning paradigm in combination with short-term optogenetics and electrophysiological recording in rats to test the hypothesis that temporally specific activation of BLA projection neurons is essential for TMT formation in the GC, and consequently CTA. We found that late-epoch (LE, >800ms), but not the early epoch (EE, 200-700ms), BLA activation during novel taste experience is essential for normal CTA, for early c-Fos expression in the GC (a marker of TMT formation) and for the subsequent changes in GC ensemble palatability coding. Interestingly, BLA activity was not required for intact taste identity or palatability perceptions. We further show that BLA-LE information is transmitted to GC through the BLA→NBM pathway where it affects the formation of taste memories. These results expose the dependence of long-term memory formation on specific temporal windows during sensory responses and the distributed circuits supporting this dependence.SignificanceConsumption of a novel taste may result in malaise and poses a threat to animals. Since the effects of poisoning appear only hours after consumption, animals must store the novel taste’s information in memory until they associate it with its value (nutritious or poisonous). Here we elucidate the neuronal activity patterns and circuits that support the processing and creation of novel-taste memories in rats. Our results show that specific patterns of temporal activation in the basolateral amygdala transmitted across brain areas are important for formation of taste memory and taste-malaise association. These findings may shed light on long-term activity-to-memory transformation in other sensory modalities.

scholarly journals “Modulation of apoptosis controls inhibitory interneuron number in the cortex”

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Myrto Denaxa ◽  
Guilherme Neves ◽  
Adam Rabinowitz ◽  
Sarah Kemlo ◽  
Petros Liodis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physiological State ◽  
Inhibitory Interneuron ◽  
Projection Neurons ◽  
Activity Levels ◽  
Cortical Interneurons ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Cell Type Specific ◽  
Excitatory Projection ◽  
Cortical Excitation ◽  
The Right

AbstractCortical networks are composed of excitatory projection neurons and inhibitory interneurons. Finding the right balance between the two is important for controlling overall cortical excitation and network dynamics. However, it is unclear how the correct number of cortical interneurons (CIs) is established in the mammalian forebrain. CIs are generated in excess from basal forebrain progenitors and their final numbers are adjusted via an intrinsically determined program of apoptosis that takes place during an early postnatal window. Here, we provide evidence that the extent of CI apoptosis during this critical period is plastic, cell type specific and can be reduced in a cell autonomous manner by acute increases in neuronal activity. We propose that the physiological state of the emerging neural network controls the activity levels of local CIs to modulate their numbers in a homeostatic manner.

scholarly journals Morphine selectively promotes glutamate release from glutamatergic terminals of projection neurons from medial prefrontal cortex to dopamine neurons of ventral tegmental area

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Yang ◽  
Ming Chen ◽  
Ping Zheng
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Locomotor Activity ◽  
Ventral Tegmental Area ◽  
Medial Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Lateral Hypothalamus ◽  
Basolateral Amygdala ◽  
Glutamate Release ◽  
Dopamine Neurons ◽  
Projection Neurons ◽  
Ventral Tegmental

AbstractRecently, we found that morphine promoted presynaptic glutamate release of dopamine (DA) neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), which constituted the main mechanism for morphine-induced increase in VTA-DA neuron firing and related behaviors (Chen et al., 2015). However, what source of presynaptic glutamate release of DA neurons in the VTA is promoted by morphine remains unknown. To address this question, we used optogenetic strategy to selectively activate glutamatergic inputs from different projection neurons and then observed the effect of morphine on them. The result shows that morphine promotes glutamate release from glutamatergic terminals of projection neurons from the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) to VTA DA neurons, but has no effect on that from the basolateral amygdala (BLA) or the lateral hypothalamus (LH) to VTA DA neurons, and the inhibition of glutamatergic projection neurons from the mPFC to the VTA significantly reduces morphine-induced increase in locomotor activity of mice.

scholarly journals Linking emotional valence and anxiety in a mouse insula-amygdala circuit

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Céline Nicolas ◽  
Anes Ju ◽  
Yifan Wu ◽  
Hazim Eldirdiri ◽  
Sebastien Delcasso ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Basolateral Amygdala ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Insular Cortex ◽  
Emotional Valence ◽  
Projection Neurons ◽  
Negative Valence ◽  
Glutamatergic Neurons ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Positive And Negative Valence

Abstract The response of the insular cortex (IC) and amygdala to stimuli of positive and negative valence were found to be altered in patients with anxiety disorders. However, the coding properties of neurons controlling anxiety and valence remain unknown. Combining photometry recordings and chemogenetics in mice, we uncover the anxiogenic control of projection neurons in the anterior IC (aIC), independently of their projection target. Using viral tracing and ex vivo electrophysiology, we characterize the monosynaptic aIC to the basolateral amygdala (BLA) connection, and employed projection-specific optogenetics, to reveal anxiogenic properties of aIC-BLA neurons in anxiety-related behaviors. Finally, using photometry recordings, we identified that aIC-BLA neurons are active in anxiogenic spaces, and in response to aversive stimuli. Together, these findings show that negative valence, as well as anxiety-related information and behaviors, are encoded by aICBLA glutamatergic neurons, providing a starting point to understand how alterations of this pathway contribute to psychiatric disorders.

scholarly journals Transitioning between preparatory and precisely sequenced neuronal activity in production of a skilled behavior

eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vamsi K Daliparthi ◽  
Ryosuke O Tachibana ◽  
Brenton G Cooper ◽  
Richard HR Hahnloser ◽  
Satoshi Kojima ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Calcium Imaging ◽  
Motor Preparation ◽  
Projection Neurons ◽  
Neuronal Populations ◽  
Premotor Neurons ◽  
Preparatory Activity ◽  
Cell Type Specific ◽  
Functionally Diverse ◽  
Neural Sequences ◽  
The Brain

Precise neural sequences are associated with the production of well-learned skilled behaviors. Yet, how neural sequences arise in the brain remains unclear. In songbirds, premotor projection neurons in the cortical song nucleus HVC are necessary for producing learned song and exhibit precise sequential activity during singing. Using cell-type specific calcium imaging we identify populations of HVC premotor neurons associated with the beginning and ending of singing-related neural sequences. We characterize neurons that bookend singing-related sequences and neuronal populations that transition from sparse preparatory activity prior to song to precise neural sequences during singing. Recordings from downstream premotor neurons or the respiratory system suggest that pre-song activity may be involved in motor preparation to sing. These findings reveal population mechanisms associated with moving from non-vocal to vocal behavioral states and suggest that precise neural sequences begin and end as part of orchestrated activity across functionally diverse populations of cortical premotor neurons.

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