BACKGROUND: In humans, accumulated adverse experiences during childhood increase the risk of anxiety disorders and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. In rodents, the ventral hippocampus (vHIP) is associated with anxiety regulation, and lesion of this region alters both anxiety-like behavior and activity levels. Neuronal oscillations in the vHIP of the theta frequency range (4-12 Hz) have been implicated in anxious states and derive in part from the activity of inhibitory interneurons in the hippocampus, some of which are enwrapped with perineuronal nets (PNNs), extracellular matrix structures that regulate plasticity. Here we sought to investigate the associations among early life stress-induced anxiety and hyperactivity with vHIP neuronal oscillations, inhibitory interneurons and PNNs in mice. METHODS: We used repeated maternal separation with early weaning (MSEW) to model accumulated early life adversity in mouse offspring and studied the underlying behavioral and cellular level changes in the vHIP associated with early life adversity. RESULTS: We found increased anxiety-like behavior and activity levels in MSEW adult males, along with increased theta power and enhanced theta-gamma coupling in the vHIP. MSEW mice showed reduced intensity of parvalbumin as well as increased PNN intensity around parvalbumin+ interneurons in the vHIP. We further observed that MSEW increased OTX2, a transcription factor promoting PNN development, in the choroid plexus where it is produced, as well as in parvalbumin+ interneurons, where it is sequestered. CONCLUSION: These findings raise the possibility of causal links among parvalbumin+ interneurons, PNNs, OTX2, and MSEW-induced anxiety and hyperactivity.

Neuronal excitability has been shown to control the migration and cortical integration of reelin-expressing cortical interneurons (INs) arising from the caudal ganglionic eminence (CGE), supporting the possibility that neurotransmitters could regulate this process. Here we show that the ionotropic serotonin receptor 3A (5-HT3AR) is specifically expressed in CGE-derived migrating interneurons and upregulated while they invade the developing cortex. Functional investigations using calcium imaging, electrophysiological recordings and migration assays indicate that CGE-derived INs increase their response to 5-HT3AR activation during the late phase of cortical plate invasion. Using genetic loss-of-function approaches and in vivo grafts, we further demonstrate that the 5-HT3AR is cell autonomously required for the migration and proper positioning of reelin-expressing CGE-derived INs in the neocortex. Our findings reveal a requirement for a serotonin receptor in controlling the migration and laminar positioning of a specific subtype of cortical IN.

No abstract

Inhibitory interneurons (INs) critically control the excitability and plasticity of neuronal networks, but whether activity can direct INs into specific circuits during development is unknown. Here, we report that in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN), which relays retinal input to the cortex, circuit activity is required for the migration, molecular differentiation, and functional integration of INs. We first characterize the prenatal origin and molecular identity of dLGN INs, revealing their recruitment from an Otx2(+) neuronal pool located in the adjacent ventral LGN. Using time-lapse and electrophysiological recordings, together with genetic and pharmacological perturbation of retinal waves, we show that retinal activity directs the navigation and circuit incorporation of dLGN INs during the first postnatal week, thereby regulating the inhibition of thalamocortical circuits. These findings identify an input-dependent mechanism regulating IN migration and circuit inhibition, which may account for the progressive recruitment of INs into expanding excitatory circuits during evolution.

The migration of cortical γ-aminobutyric acidergic interneurons has been extensively studied in rodent embryos, whereas few studies have documented their postnatal migration. Combining in vivo analysis together with time-lapse imaging on cortical slices, we explored the origin and migration of cortical interneurons during the first weeks of postnatal life. Strikingly, we observed that a large pool of GAD65-GFP-positive cells accumulate in the dorsal white matter region during the first postnatal week. Part of these cells divides and expresses the transcription factor paired box 6 indicating the presence of local transient amplifying precursors. The vast majority of these cells are immature interneurons expressing the neuronal marker doublecortin and partly the calcium-binding protein calretinin. Time-lapse imaging reveals that GAD65-GFP-positive neurons migrate from the white matter pool into the overlying anterior cingulate cortex (aCC). Some interneurons in the postnatal aCC express the same immature neuronal markers suggesting ongoing migration of calretinin-positive interneurons. Finally, bromodeoxyuridine incorporation experiments confirm that a small fraction of interneurons located in the aCC are generated during the early postnatal period. These results altogether reveal that at postnatal ages, the dorsal white matter contains a pool of interneuron precursors that divide and migrate into the aCC.

No abstract

The hippocampus of rodents undergoes structural remodeling throughout adulthood, including the addition of new neurons. Adult neurogenesis is sensitive to environmental enrichment and stress. Microglia, the brain’s resident immune cells, are involved in adult neurogenesis by engulfing dying new neurons. While previous studies using laboratory environmental enrichment have investigated alterations in brain structure and function, they do not provide an adequate reflection of living in the wild, in which stress and environmental instability are common. Here, we compared mice living in standard laboratory settings to mice living in outdoor enclosures to assess the complex interactions among environment, gut infection, and hippocampal plasticity. We infected mice with parasitic worms and studied their effects on adult neurogenesis, microglia, and functions associated with the hippocampus, including cognition and anxiety regulation. We found an increase in immature neuron numbers of mice living in outdoor enclosures regardless of infection. While outdoor living prevented increases in microglial reactivity induced by infection in both the dorsal and ventral hippocampus, outdoor mice with infection had fewer microglia and microglial processes in the ventral hippocampus. We observed no differences in cognitive performance on the hippocampus-dependent object location task between infected and uninfected mice living in either setting. However, we found that infection caused an increase in anxiety-like behavior in the open field test but only in outdoor mice. These findings suggest that living conditions, as well as gut infection, interact to produce complex effects on brain structure and function.

The serine protease subtilisin-A (SubA) induces a form of long-term depression (LTD) of synaptic transmission in the rat hippocampus, and molecular changes associated with SubA-induced LTD (SubA-LTD) were explored by using recordings of evoked postsynaptic potentials and immunoblotting. SubA-LTD was prevented by a selective inhibitor of SubA proteolysis, but the same inhibitor did not affect LTD induced by electrical stimulation or activation of metabotropic glutamate receptors. SubA-LTD was reduced by the protein kinase inhibitors genistein and lavendustin A, although not by inhibitors of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase, glycogen synthase kinase-3, or protein phosphatases. It was also reduced by (RS)-α-methyl-4-carboxyphenylglycine, a broad-spectrum antagonist at metabotropic glutamate receptors. Inhibition of the Rho kinase enzyme Rho-associated coiled-coil kinase reduced SubA-LTD, although inhibitors of the RhoGTPase-activating enzymes farnesyl transferase and geranylgeranyl transferase did not. In addition, a late phase of SubA-LTD was dependent on new protein synthesis. There was a small, non-significant difference in SubA-LTD between wild-type and RhoB(-/-) mice. Marked decreases were seen in the levels of Unc-5H3, a protein that is intimately involved in the development and plasticity of glutamatergic synapses. Smaller changes were noted, at higher concentrations of SubA, in Unc-5H1, vesicle-associated membrane protein-1 (synaptobrevin), and actin, with no changes in the levels of synaptophysin, synaptotagmin, RhoA, or RhoB. None of these changes was associated with LTD induced electrically or by the metabotropic glutamate receptor agonist (RS)-3,5-dihydroxyphenylglycine. These results indicate that SubA induces molecular changes that overlap with other forms of LTD, but that the overall molecular profile of SubA-LTD is quite different.