Author:
Liu Wei-Zhu,Wang Chun-Yan,Wang Yu,Cai Mei-Ting,Zhong Wei-Xiang,Liu Tian,Wang Zhi-Hao,Pan Han-Qing,Zhang Wen-Hua,Pan Bing-Xing
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Chronic stress exposure increases the risk of mental health problems such as anxiety and depression. The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is a hub for controlling stress responses through communicating with multiple limbic structures, including the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and nucleus accumbens (NAc). However, considering the complex topographical organization of the mPFC neurons in different subregions (dmPFC vs. vmPFC) and across multiple layers (Layer II/III vs. Layer V), the exact effects of chronic stress on these distinct mPFC output neurons remain largely unknown.
Results
We first characterized the topographical organization of mPFC neurons projecting to BLA and NAc. Then, by using a typical mouse model of chronic restraint stress (CRS), we investigated the effects of chronic stress on the synaptic activity and intrinsic properties of the two mPFC neuronal populations. Our results showed that there was limited collateralization of the BLA- and NAc-projecting pyramidal neurons, regardless of the subregion or layer they were situated in. CRS significantly reduced the inhibitory synaptic transmission onto the BLA-projecting neurons in dmPFC layer V without any effect on the excitatory synaptic transmission, thus leading to a shift of the excitation-inhibition (E-I) balance toward excitation. However, CRS did not affect the E-I balance in NAc-projecting neurons in any subregions or layers of mPFC. Moreover, CRS also preferentially increased the intrinsic excitability of the BLA-projecting neurons in dmPFC layer V. By contrast, it even caused a decreasing tendency in the excitability of NAc-projecting neurons in vmPFC layer II/III.
Conclusion
Our findings indicate that chronic stress exposure preferentially modulates the activity of the mPFC-BLA circuit in a subregion (dmPFC) and laminar (layer V) -dependent manner.
Funder
National Natural Science Foundation of China
China Postdoctoral Science Foundation
Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province
National Key R&D Program of China
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Subject
General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology