Adverse early-life experiences, such as poor maternal care, program an abnormal stress response that may involve an altered balance between excitatory and inhibitory signals. Here, we explored how early-life stress (ELS) affects excitatory and inhibitory transmission in corticotrophinreleasing factor (CRF)-expressing dorsal-medial (mpd) neurons of the neonatal mouse hypothalamus. We report that ELS associates with enhanced excitatory glutamatergic transmission that is manifested as an increased frequency of synaptic events and increased extrasynaptic conductance, with the latter associated with dysfunctional astrocytic regulation of glutamate levels. The neurosteroid 5␣-pregnan-3␣-ol-20-one (5␣3␣-THPROG) is an endogenous, positive modulator of GABA A receptors (GABA A Rs) that is abundant during brain development and rises rapidly during acute stress, thereby enhancing inhibition to curtail stress-induced activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis. In control mpd neurons, 5␣3␣-THPROG potently suppressed neuronal discharge, but this action was greatly compromised by prior ELS exposure. This neurosteroid insensitivity did not primarily result from perturbations of GABAergic inhibition, but rather arose functionally from the increased excitatory drive onto mpd neurons. Previous reports indicated that mice (dams) lacking the GABA A R ␦ subunit (␦ 0/0 ) exhibit altered maternal behavior. Intriguingly, ␦ 0/0 offspring showed some hallmarks of abnormal maternal care that were further exacerbated by ELS. Moreover, in common with ELS, mpd neurons of ␦ 0/0 pups exhibited increased synaptic and extrasynaptic glutamatergic transmission and consequently a blunted neurosteroid suppression of neuronal firing. This study reveals that increased synaptic and tonic glutamatergic transmission may be a common maladaptation to ELS, leading to enhanced excitation of CRF-releasing neurons, and identifies neurosteroids as putative early regulators of the stress neurocircuitry.

Hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells, which receive γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic input from at least 18 types of presynaptic neuron, express 14 subunits of the pentameric GABA A receptor. The relative contribution of any subunit to synaptic and extrasynaptic receptors influences the dynamics of GABA and drug actions. Synaptic receptors mediate phasic GABA-evoked conductance and extrasynaptic receptors contribute to a tonic conductance. We used freezefracture replica-immunogold labelling, a sensitive quantitative immunocytochemical method, to detect synaptic and extrasynaptic pools of the alpha1, alpha2 and beta3 subunits. Antibodies to the cytoplasmic loop of the subunits showed immunogold particles concentrated on distinct clusters of intramembrane particles (IMPs) on the cytoplasmic face of the plasma membrane on the somata, dendrites and axon initial segments, with an abrupt decrease in labelling at the edge of the IMP cluster. Neuroligin-2, a GABAergic synapse-specific adhesion molecule, co-labels all beta3 subunit-rich IMP clusters, therefore we considered them synapses. Double-labelling for two subunits showed that virtually all somatic synapses contain the alpha1, alpha2 and beta3 subunits. The extrasynaptic plasma membrane of the somata, dendrites and dendritic spines showed low- Europe PMC Funders Author ManuscriptsEurope PMC Funders Author Manuscripts density immunolabelling. Synaptic labelling densities on somata for the alpha1, alpha2 and beta3 subunits were 78-132, 94 and 79 times higher than on the extrasynaptic membranes, respectively. As GABAergic synapses occupy 0.72% of the soma surface, the fraction of synaptic labelling was 33-48 (alpha1), 40 (alpha2) and 36 (beta3)% of the total somatic surface immunolabelling. Assuming similar antibody access to all receptors, about 60% of these subunits are in extrasynaptic receptors.

In mammals, identifying the contribution of specific neurons or networks to behavior is a key challenge. Here we describe an approach that facilitates this process by enabling the rapid modulation of synaptic inhibition in defined cell populations. Binding of zolpidem, a systemically active allosteric modulator that enhances the function of the GABA A receptor, requires a phenylalanine residue (Phe77) in the γ2 subunit. Mice in which this residue is changed to isoleucine are insensitive to zolpidem. By Cre recombinase-induced swapping of the γ2 subunit (that is, exchanging Ile77 for Phe77), zolpidem sensitivity can be restored to GABA A receptors in chosen cell types. We demonstrate the power of this method in the cerebellum, where zolpidem rapidly induces significant motor deficits when Purkinje cells are made uniquely sensitive to its action. This combined molecular and pharmacological technique has demonstrable advantages over targeted cell ablation and will be invaluable for investigating many neuronal circuits.A classical approach to the study of brain function is selective lesioning. Unfortunately, the interpretation of data from such studies can be confounded by compensatory changes, whereby unrelated systems are recruited to alleviate, if only partially, any deficit. A complementary method involves reversibly silencing, albeit with little or no cell-type selectivity, the activity of a pathway or nucleus through cooling or stereotaxic drug administration (for example, see refs. 1,2). Reversible approaches have advantages over permanent lesioning. First, the effects of acute regional inactivation cannot be easily overcome by compensatory changes, because the inactivated system is altered only briefly

Numerous neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders are associated with deficits in executive functions such as working memory and cognitive flexibility. Progress in developing effective treatments for disorders may benefit from targeting these cognitive impairments, the success of which is predicated on the development of animal models with validated behavioural assays. Zebrafish offer a promising model for studying complex brain disorders, but tasks assessing executive function are lacking. The Free-movement pattern (FMP) Y-maze combines aspects of the common Y-maze assay, which exploits the inherent motivation of an organism to explore an unknown environment, with analysis based on a series of sequential two-choice discriminations. We validate the task as a measure of working memory and executive function by comparing task performance parameters in adult zebrafish treated with a range of glutamatergic, cholinergic and dopaminergic drugs known to impair working memory and cognitive flexibility. We demonstrate the cross-species validity of the task by assessing performance parameters in adapted versions of the task for mice and Drosophila, and finally a virtual version in humans, and identify remarkable commonalities between vertebrate species' navigation of the maze. Together, our results demonstrate that the FMP Y-maze is a sensitive assay for assessing working memory and cognitive flexibility across species from invertebrates to humans, providing a simple and widely applicable behavioural assay with exceptional translational relevance.

D2Ϫ/Ϫ mice exhibited normal CPP, but no cocaine enhancement. In conclusion, dopamine modulation of GABAergic tonic inhibition of D1-and D2-MSNs provides an intrinsic mechanism to differentially affect their excitability in response to psychostimulants and thereby influence their ability to potentiate conditioned reward. Therefore, ␣4␤␦ GABA A Rs may represent a viable target for the development of novel therapeutics to better understand and influence addictive behaviors.

HighlightsGABAA receptors (GABAARs) curtail stress-induced activation of the HPA axis.Stressful challenges evoke de novo brain synthesis of GABAAR-active neurosteroids (NS).NS inhibit the output of CRF-releasing neurones of the hypothalamus.NS actions in the hypothalamus are blunted in rodent models of early-life adversity.NS may be important molecular messengers in the programming of the stress-response.

The lateral habenula (LHb) has a key role in integrating a variety of neural circuits associated with reward and aversive behaviors. There is limited information about how the different cell types and neuronal circuits within the LHb coordinate physiological and motivational states. Here, we report a cell type in the medial division of the LHb (LHbM) in male rats that is distinguished by: (1) a molecular signature for GABAergic neurotransmission (Slc32a1/VGAT) and estrogen receptor (Esr1/ERα) expression, at both mRNA and protein levels, as well as the mRNA for vesicular glutamate transporter Slc17a6/VGLUT2, which we term the GABAergic estrogen-receptive neuron (GERN); (2) its axonal projection patterns, identified by in vivo juxtacellular labeling, to both local LHb and to midbrain modulatory systems; and (3) its somatic expression of receptors for vasopressin, serotonin and dopamine, and mRNA for orexin receptor 2. This cell type is anatomically located to receive afferents from midbrain reward (dopamine and serotonin) and hypothalamic water and energy homeostasis (vasopressin and orexin) circuits. These afferents shared the expression of estrogen synthase (aromatase) and VGLUT2, both in their somata and axon terminals. We demonstrate dynamic changes in LHbM VGAT+ cell density, dependent upon gonadal functional status, that closely correlate with motivational behavior in response to predator and forced swim stressors. The findings suggest that the homeostasis and reward-related glutamatergic convergent projecting pathways to LHbMC employ a localized neurosteroid signaling mechanism via axonal expression of aromatase, to act as a switch for GERN excitation/inhibition output prevalence, influencing depressive or motivated behavior.

The enteric nervous system (ENS) provides the intrinsic neural control of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and regulates virtually all GI functions. Altered neuronal activity within the ENS underlies various GI disorders with stress being a key contributing factor. Thus, elucidating the expression and function of the neurotransmitter systems, which determine neuronal excitability within the ENS, such as the GABA-GABA A receptor (GABA A R) system, could reveal novel therapeutic targets for such GI disorders. Molecular and functionally diverse GABA A Rs modulate rapid GABAergic-mediated regulation of neuronal excitability throughout the nervous system. However, the cellular and subcellular GABA A R subunit expression patterns within neurochemically defined cellular circuits of the mouse ENS, together with the functional contribution of GABA A R subtypes to GI contractility remains to be determined. Immunohistochemical analyses revealed that immunoreactivity for the GABA A R gamma (␥) 2 and alphas (␣) 1, 2, 3 subunits was located on somatodendritic surfaces of neurochemically distinct myenteric plexus neurons, while being on axonal compartments of submucosal plexus neurons. In contrast, immunoreactivity for the ␣4 -5 subunits was only detected in myenteric plexus neurons. Furthermore, ␣-␥2 subunit immunoreactivity was located on non-neuronal interstitial cells of Cajal. In organ bath studies, GABA A R subtype-specific ligands had contrasting effects on the force and frequency of spontaneous colonic longitudinal smooth muscle contractions. Finally, enhancement of ␥2-GABA A R function with alprazolam reversed the stress-induced increase in the force of spontaneous colonic contractions. The study demonstrates the molecular and functional diversity of the GABA A R system within the mouse colon providing a framework for developing GABA A R-based therapeutics in GI disorders.