Persistent avoidance of stress-related stimuli following acute stress exposure predicts negative outcomes such as substance abuse and traumatic stress disorders. Previous work using a rat model showed that the central amygdala (CeA) plays an important role in avoidance of a predator odor stress-paired context. Here, we show that CeA projections to the lateral hypothalamus (LH) are preferentially activated in male rats that show avoidance of a predator odor-paired context (termed Avoider rats), that chemogenetic inhibition of CeA-LH projections attenuates avoidance in male Avoider rats, that chemogenetic stimulation of the CeA-LH circuit produces conditioned place avoidance in otherwise naïve male rats, and that avoidance behavior is associated with intrinsic properties of LH-projecting CeA cells. Collectively, these data show that CeA-LH projections are important for persistent avoidance of stress-related stimuli following acute stress exposure. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT This study in rats shows that a spe...

The basic rhythmic activity that underlies stepping is generated by a neural network, situated in the spinal cord, known as the locomotor central pattern generator (CPG). While a series of lesion experiments have demonstrated that the mammalian locomotor CPG is distributed throughout the ventral portion of the caudal spinal cord, the specific transverse distribution of this neural network is unclear. Here we evoke fictive locomotor activity of various frequencies in upright spinal cords prepared from male and female neonatal mice. This preparation enables us to use an imaging approach to identify locomotor-related cells across the transverse plane of the spinal cord. Results indicate that there is a clear shift in the recruitment of cells toward the ventromedial, and away from the ventrolateral, spinal cord as the frequency of fictive locomotion increases. Surprisingly, the analysis of multiple frequencies of fictive locomotion in the same spinal cord indicates that few neurons are involved in locomotor ou...

Self-control allows humans the patience necessary to maximize reward attainment in the future. Yet it remains elusive when and how the preference to self-controlled choice is formed. We measured brain activity while female and male humans performed an intertemporal choice task in which they first received delayed real liquid rewards (forced-choice trial), and then made a choice between the reward options based on the experiences (free-choice trial). We found that, while subjects were awaiting an upcoming reward in the forced-choice trial, the anterior prefrontal cortex tracked a dynamic signal reflecting the pleasure of anticipating the future reward. Importantly, this prefrontal signal was specifically observed in self-controlled individuals, and moreover, interregional negative coupling between the prefrontal region and the ventral striatum became stronger in those individuals. During consumption of the liquid rewards, reduced ventral striatal activity predicted self-controlled choices in the subsequent ...

Loss of auditory-nerve (AN) afferent cochlear innervation is a prevalent human condition that does not affect audiometric thresholds and therefore remains largely undetectable with standard clinical tests. AN loss is widely expected to cause hearing difficulties in noise, known as ‘hidden hearing loss’, but support for this hypothesis is controversial. Here, we used operant conditioning procedures to examine the perceptual impact of AN loss on behavioral tone-in-noise sensitivity in the budgerigar ( Melopsittacus undulatus; of either sex), an avian animal model with complex hearing abilities similar to humans. Bilateral kainic-acid infusions depressed compound AN responses by 40-70% without impacting otoacoustic emissions or behavioral tone sensitivity in quiet. Surprisingly, animals with AN damage showed normal thresholds for tone detection in noise (0.1 ±1.0 dB re. control animals; mean difference ±standard error), even under a challenging roving-level condition with random stimulus variation across tria...

In many species, social networks provide benefit for both the individual and the collective. In addition to transmitting information to others, social networks provide an emotional buffer for distressed individuals. Our understanding about the cellular mechanisms that contribute to buffering is poor. Stress has consequences for the entire organism, including a robust change in synaptic plasticity at glutamate synapses onto corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) neurons in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN). In females, however, this stress-induced metaplasticity is buffered by the presence of a naive partner. This buffering may be because of discrete behavioral interactions, signals in the context in which the interaction occurs (i.e., olfactory cues), or it may be influenced by local signaling events in the PVN. Here, we show that local vasopressin (VP) signaling in PVN buffers the short-term potentiation (STP) at glutamate synapses after stress. This social buffering of metaplasticity, ...

In the article “Involvement of TRPC Channels in CCL2-Mediated Neuroprotection against Tat Toxicity,” by Honghong Yao, Fuwang Peng, Navneet Dhillon, Shannon Callen, Sirosh Bokhari, Lisa Stehno-Bittel, S. Omar Ahmad, John Q. Wang, and Shilpa Buch, which appeared on pages [1657–1669][1] of the

Binocular disparity, the difference between the two eyes' images, is a powerful cue to generate the 3D depth percept known as stereopsis. In primates, binocular disparity is processed in multiple areas of the visual cortex, with distinct contributions of higher areas to specific aspects of depth perception. Mice, too, can perceive stereoscopic depth, and neurons in primary visual cortex (V1) and higher-order, lateromedial (LM) and rostrolateral (RL) areas were found to be sensitive to binocular disparity. A detailed characterization of disparity tuning across mouse visual areas is lacking, however, and acquiring such data might help clarifying the role of higher areas for disparity processing and establishing putative functional correspondences to primate areas. We used two-photon calcium imaging in female mice to characterize the disparity tuning properties of neurons in visual areas V1, LM, and RL in response to dichoptically presented binocular gratings, as well as random dot correlograms (RDC). In all ...

It has been argued that the dopaminergic system is involved in the attribution of motivational value to reward predictive cues as well as prediction error. To evaluate, dopamine neurons were recorded from male rats performing a Pavlovian approach task containing cues that have both “predictive” and “incentive” properties. All animals learned the predictive nature of the cue (illuminated lever entry into cage), but some also found the cue to be attractive and were motivated toward it (“sign-trackers,” STs). “Goal-trackers” (GTs) predominantly approached the location of reward receptacle. Rats were implanted with tetrodes for neural electrophysiological recordings in the ventral tegmental area. Cells were characterized by spike waveform shape and firing rate. Firing rates and magnitudes of responses in relation to Pavlovian behaviors, cue presentation, and reward delivery were assessed. We identified 103 dopamine and 141 nondopamine neurons. GTs and STs both showed responses to the initial lever presentation...

Humans with cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) often recover voluntary control of elbow flexors and, to a much lesser extent, elbow extensor muscles. The neural mechanisms underlying this asymmetrical recovery remain unknown. Anatomical and physiological evidence in animals and humans indicates that corticospinal and reticulospinal pathways differentially control elbow flexor and extensor motoneurons; therefore, it is possible that reorganization in these pathways contributes to the asymmetrical recovery of elbow muscles after SCI. To test this hypothesis, we examined motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) elicited by transcranial magnetic stimulation over the arm representation of the primary motor cortex, maximal voluntary contractions, the StartReact response (a shortening in reaction time evoked by a startling stimulus), and the effect of an acoustic startle cue on MEPs elicited by cervicomedullary stimulation (CMEPs) on biceps and triceps brachii in males and females with and without chronic cervical incomplet...