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We tested the hypothesis that neonatal maternal separation (NMS), a form of stress that affects hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) function in adult rats, alters development of the respiratory control system. Pups subjected to NMS were placed in a temperature and humidity controlled incubator 3 h per day for 10 consecutive days (P3 to P12). Control pups were undisturbed. Once they reached adulthood (8-10 weeks old), rats were placed in a plethysmography chamber for measurement of ventilatory and cardiovascular parameters under normoxic and hypoxic conditions. Measurement of c-fos mRNA expression in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVH) combined with plasma ACTH and corticosterone levels confirmed that NMS effectively disrupted HPA axis function in males. In males, baseline minute ventilation was not affected by NMS. In contrast, NMS females show a greater resting minute ventilation due to a larger tidal volume. The hypoxic ventilatory response of male NMS rats was 25% greater than controls, owing mainly to an increase in tidal volume response. This augmentation of the hypoxic ventilatory response was sex-specific also because NMS females show an attenuated minute ventilation increase. Baseline mean arterial blood pressure of male NMS rats was 20% higher than controls. NMS-related hypertension was not significant in females. The mechanisms underlying sex-specific disruption of cardio-respiratory control in NMS rats are unknown but may be a consequence of the neuroendocrine disruption associated with NMS. These data indicate that exposure to a non-respiratory stress during early life elicits significant plasticity of these homeostatic functions which persists until adulthood.

For many patients, chronic pain is often accompanied, and sometimes amplified, by co-morbidities such as anxiety and depression. Although it represents important challenges, the establishment of appropriate preclinical behavioral models contributes to drug development for treating chronic inflammatory pain and associated psychopathologies. In this study, we investigated whether rats experiencing persistent inflammatory pain induced by intraplantar injection of complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) developed anxiety-like behaviors, and whether clinically used analgesic and anxiolytic drugs were able to reverse CFA-induced anxiety-related phenotypes. These behaviors were evaluated over 28 days in both CFA-and saline-treated groups with a variety of behavioral tests. CFA-induced mechanical allodynia resulted in increased anxiety-like behaviors as evidenced by: 1) a significant decrease in percentage of time spent and number of entries in open arms of the elevated-plus maze (EPM), 2) a decrease in number of central squares visited in the open field (OF), and 3) a reduction in active social interactions in the social interaction test (SI). The number of entries in closed arms in the EPM and the distance travelled in the OF used as indicators of locomotor performance did not differ between treatments. Our results also reveal that in CFAtreated rats, acute administration of morphine (3 mg/kg, s.c.) abolished tactile allodynia and anxiety-like behaviors, whereas acute administration of diazepam (1 mg/kg, s.c) solely reversed anxiety-like behaviors. Therefore, pharmacological treatment of anxiety-like behaviors induced by chronic inflammatory pain can be objectively evaluated using multiple behavioral tests. Such a model could help identify/validate alternative potential targets that influence pain and cognitive dimensions of anxiety.

The connectivity of the amygdaloid complex has been extensively explored with both anterograde and retrograde tracers. Even though the afferents of the centromedial amygdala [comprising the central (CEA) and medial (MEA) amygdaloid nuclei] are well established, relatively little is known about the neuropeptide phenotype of these connections. In this study, we first examined the distribution of mu-opioid receptor (MOR) and delta-opioid receptor (DOR) in the amygdala via in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry. We then investigated the distribution of Met-enkephalin (ENK) and Leu-ENK fibers with immunohistochemistry and examined the distribution of preproenkephalin mRNA in the amygdala by using in situ hybridization. Finally, we examined the ENK projections to the CEA and MEA by using stereotaxic injections of the retrograde tracer cholera toxin subunit B or fluorogold revealed by immunohistochemistry combined with in situ hybridization to identify ENKergic neurons. Our results indicate that the centromedial amygdala receives ENK afferents, as indicated by the presence of MOR, DOR, and ENK fibers in the CEA and MEA, originating primarily from the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BST) and from other amygdaloid nuclei. The posterior BST, the basomedial nucleus (BMA), and the cortical nucleus of the amygdala (COA) were found to be the major ENK afferents of the MEA, whereas the anterolateral BST, the COA, the MEA, and the BMA provided the main ENKergic innervation of the CEA. In addition, we found that the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus and the pontine parabrachial nucleus provide a moderate ENK input to the CEA and MEA. The functional implications of these connections in stress, anxiety, and nociception are discussed.

The interaction between the stress axis and endogenous opioid systems has gained substantial attention as it is increasingly recognized that stress alters individual sensitivity to opiates. One site at which opiates and stress substrates may interact to have global effects on behavior is within the locus coeruleus (LC). We have previously described interactions of several opioid peptides (e.g. pro-opiomelanocortin, enkephalin) with the stress-related peptide, corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) in the LC. To further examine interactions between DYN, ENK and CRF in the LC, sections were processed for detection of DYN, CRF or DYN and ENK in rat brain. DYN-and CRF-containing axon terminals overlapped noradrenergic dendrites in this region. Dual immunoelectron microscopy showed coexistence of DYN and CRF with 35% of axon terminals containing DYN that were also immunoreactive for CRF. In contrast, few axon terminals contained both DYN and ENK. A potential DYN/CRF afferent is the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA). Dual in situ hybridization showed that in CeA neurons, 31% of DYN mRNApositive cells co-localized with CRF mRNA while 53% of CRF mRNAcontaining cells colocalized with DYN mRNA. Finally, to determine whether limbic DYN afferents target the LC, the CeA was electrolytically lesioned. Light-level densitometry of DYN labeling in the LC showed a significant decrease in immunoreactivity on the side of the lesion. Taken together, these data indicate that DYN-and CRF-labeled axon terminals, most likely arising from amygdalar sources are positioned to dually impact LC function whereas DYN and ENK function in parallel.

This study aimed at characterizing the neurotransmitter phenotype of enkephalin neurons in the rat amygdaloid complex. We first established the detailed distribution of vesicular glutamate transporters 1 and 2 (VGLUT1 and -2) and glutamate decarboxylase 65 (GAD65) in the amygdala by using in situ hybridization. In the amygdaloid complex, GAD65 is strongly expressed in striatal-like divisions, namely, the anterior amygdaloid area, the central nucleus (CEA), the intercalated nuclei, and the dorsal part of the medial nucleus (MEA). VGLUT1 and -2 expression is mostly segregated to specific divisions of the amygdale, with VGLUT2 being expressed only in the MEA, the anterior cortical nucleus (COAa), and the anterior basomedial nucleus (BMAa), whereas VGLUT1 is expressed in all other divisions of the amygdala. Second, we assessed the co-expression of preproenkephalin (ppENK) with GAD65, VGLUT1, or VGLUT2 by using double fluorescent in situ hybridization. We found that ppENK mRNA co-localized exclusively with GAD65 in all striatal-like structures of the amygdaloid complex with the exception of the MEA, where ENK also co-localized with VGLUT2 mRNA. This co-localization is most apparent in the posteroventral part of the MEA, where 70% of ENKergic cells expressed VGLUT2. In addition, ppENK also co-localized with VGLUT1 because more than 95% of ENK cells in the basolateral amygdala expressed VGLUT1. In contrast, less than 25% of ENKergic cells expressed VGLUT1 in the lateral nucleus of the amygdale, with the majority of ENK cells expressing GAD65 mRNA in this nucleus. These results have broad implications for understanding the functional roles of enkephalinergic neurotransmission in the amygdaloid complex. J. Comp. Neurol. 506: 943-959, 2008.