2024
Medial prefrontal cortex acetylcholine signaling mediates the ability to learn an active avoidance response following learned helplessness training
Abdulla Z, Mineur Y, Crouse R, Etherington I, Yousuf H, Na J, Picciotto M. Medial prefrontal cortex acetylcholine signaling mediates the ability to learn an active avoidance response following learned helplessness training. Neuropsychopharmacology 2024, 1-9. PMID: 39362985, DOI: 10.1038/s41386-024-02003-0.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMedial prefrontal cortexACh levelsInescapable stressorEscape performanceExposure to inescapable stressorsAcetylcholine signalingLearned helplessness taskLearned helplessness trainingStress-related circuitsActive avoidance taskActive avoidance testActive avoidance responseElevation of acetylcholineIncreased ACh levelsStress-related behaviorsImpaired escape performanceIncreased brain levelsTop-down controlHelplessness trainingPrefrontal cortexAvoidance taskChemogenetic inhibitionMaladaptive behaviorsAvoidance testNegative encoding
2020
Cumulative Effects of Social Stress on Reward-Guided Actions and Prefrontal Cortical Activity
Barthas F, Hu MY, Siniscalchi MJ, Ali F, Mineur YS, Picciotto MR, Kwan AC. Cumulative Effects of Social Stress on Reward-Guided Actions and Prefrontal Cortical Activity. Biological Psychiatry 2020, 88: 541-553. PMID: 32276717, PMCID: PMC7434704, DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2020.02.008.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPrefrontal cortical activityCortical activityIndividual layer 2/3 pyramidal neuronsLayer 2/3 pyramidal neuronsStress exposureDepressive-like phenotypeTwo-photon calcium imagingSocial stressChronic social stressIndividual prefrontal neuronsMedial prefrontal cortexPyramidal neuronsMotor subregionsNeural dysfunctionResilient miceCalcium imagingPrefrontal neuronsAbnormal levelsPrefrontal cortexSocial defeatDistinct neural responsesStress-induced lossGoal-directed actionsEnsemble activityDefeat sessions
2015
Antidepressant-like effects of guanfacine and sex-specific differences in effects on c-fos immunoreactivity and paired-pulse ratio in male and female mice
Mineur YS, Bentham MP, Zhou WL, Plantenga ME, McKee SA, Picciotto MR. Antidepressant-like effects of guanfacine and sex-specific differences in effects on c-fos immunoreactivity and paired-pulse ratio in male and female mice. Psychopharmacology 2015, 232: 3539-3549. PMID: 26146014, PMCID: PMC4561580, DOI: 10.1007/s00213-015-4001-3.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsAntidepressant-like effectsPaired-pulse ratioC-Fos immunoreactivityPrefrontal cortexSwim testBrain areasRobust antidepressant-like effectsBrain regionsSex differencesMale C57BL/6J miceDepression-like behaviorEffects of guanfacineAcetylcholinesterase inhibitor physostigmineLight/dark boxBaseline sex differencesC-fos expressionDepression-like stateCritical brain regionsDifferent brain areasSex-specific changesAntidepressant efficacyCholinergic controlInhibitor physostigmineC57BL/6J miceAgonist guanfacine