<p>The goal of this dissertation is two-fold: 1) to identify novel biological pathways implicating individual differences in reward and threat processing in the emergence of risk and resilience for psychopathology, 2) to identify novel genetic and epigenetic predictors of the inter-individual variability in these biological pathways. Four specific studies are reported wherein blood oxygen-level dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD fMRI) was used to measure individual differences in threat-related amygdala reactivity and reward-related ventral striatum (VS) reactivity; self-report was used to measure of mood and psychopathology as well as the experience of stressful life events. In addition, DNA was derived from peripheral tissues to identify specific genetic and epigenetic markers.</p><p>Results from Study 1 demonstrate that individuals with relatively low reward-related VS reactivity show stress-related reductions in positive affect, while those with high VS reactivity remain resilient to these potentially depressogenic effects. Heightened VS reactivity was, however, associated with stress-related increases in problem drinking in Study 2. Importantly, this effect only occurred in individuals showing concomitantly reduced threat-related amygdala reactivity. Study 3 demonstrates that using a multilocus genetic profile capturing the cumulative impact of five functional polymorphic loci on dopamine signaling increases power to explain variability in reward-related VS reactivity relative to an approach considering each locus independently. Finally, Study 4 provides evidence that methylation in the proximal promoter of the serotonin transporter gene is negatively correlated with gene expression and positively correlated with threat-related amygdala reactivity above and beyond the effects of commonly studied functional DNA-sequence based variation in the same genomic vicinity.</p><p>The results from these studies implicate novel biological pathways, namely reward-related VS reactivity and threat-related amygdala reactivity, as predictors of relative risk or resilience for psychopathology particularly in response to stressful life events. Moreover, the results suggest that genetic and epigenetic markers may serve as easily accessible peripheral tissue proxies for these neural phenotypes and, ultimately, risk and resilience. Such markers may eventually be harnessed to identify vulnerable individuals and facilitate targeted early intervention or prevention efforts.</p> / Dissertation

Το ενδογενές σύστημα των κανναβινοειδών αποτελεί ένα πολύπλοκο ενδογενές σύστημα μεταγωγής σήματος το οποίο επηρεάζει ένα σημαντικό αριθμό φυσιολογικών διεργασιών και μεταβολικών μονοπατιών του οργανισμού (Cota and Woods, 2005). Απαρτίζεται από τους διαμεμβρανικούς υποδοχείς των κανναβινοειδών (CBR), τα ενδοκανναβινοειδή και τις πρωτεΐνες που είναι υπεύθυνες για την βιοσύνθεση και την αποικοδόμηση των δεύτερων. (Petrocellis et al., 2004). Τα κανναβινοειδή παρουσιάζουν ποικιλία επιπτώσεων, όπως δυσλειτουργία στη μάθηση και μνήμη, διαφοροποίηση των συναισθηματικών καταστάσεων, μείωση κινητικού ελέγχου και αναλγησία. Αναστέλλουν τη συναπτική διαβίβαση σε διάφορες περιοχές του εγκεφάλου όπως ο ιππόκαμπος, ο επικλινής πυρήνας και ο προμετωπιαίος φλοιός κυρίως μέσω προσυναπτικών μηχανισμών. Το γλουταμινικό οξύ είναι ο κύριος διεγερτικός νευροδιαβιβαστής στο Κεντρικό Νευρικό Σύστημα των θηλαστικών. Οι γλουταμινεργικοί νευρώνες διανέμονται ευρέως στο κεντρικό νευρικό σύστημα και παίζουν ρόλο σε πολλές βιολογικές διεργασίες, συμπεριλαμβανομένης της κωδικοποίησης των πληροφοριών, το σχηματισμό και την ανάκτηση των μνημών, τη χωρική αναγνώριση και τη διατήρηση της προσοχής (McEntee και Crook, 1993). Λόγω του ρόλου του στη συναπτική πλαστικότητα, το γλουταμινικό εμπλέκεται σε γνωσιακές λειτουργίες του εγκεφάλου, όπως η μάθηση και η μνήμη (McEntee και Crook, 1993). Το γλουταμινικό δρα στα μετασυναπτικά κύτταρα σε τρεις οικογένειες ιοντοτροπικών υποδοχέων τους NMDA, τους AMPA και τους καϊνικούς υποδοχείς, ενώ υπάρχουν, επίσης, και γλουταμινικοί μεταβολοτροπικοί υποδοχείς που συνδέονται με G πρωτεΐνες. Η αμυγδαλή εκτελεί ένα πρωταρχικό ρόλο στην επεξεργασία των συναισθηματικών αντιδράσεων και τη μνήμη, ενώ ο ιππόκαμπος έχει σημαντικό ρόλο στην εδραίωση των πληροφοριών από βραχυχρόνια μνήμη σε μακροχρόνια μνήμη και στη χωρική πλοήγηση. Οι δύο αυτές περιοχές είναι πλούσιες σε CB1 και NMDA υποδοχείς, ενώ τα τελευταία χρόνια, πληθώρα ερευνών υποδεικνύει ότι η έκθεση πειραματοζώων σε κανναβινοειδή επιφέρει σημαντικές αλλαγές σ’ αυτές τις δύο περιοχές. Στόχος της ερευνητικής εργασίας ήταν η μελέτη της επίδρασης των κανναβινοειδών στο γλουταμινεργικό σύστημα, στην αμυγδαλή και τον ιππόκαμπο επίμυων. Η μελέτη επικεντώθηκε στους NMDA υποδοχείς του γλουταμινικού οξέος με τη χρήση των μεθόδων της in situ υβριδοποίησης για το mRNA των NR1, NR2A και NR2B υπομονάδων του υποδοχέα και της ποσοτικής αυτοραδιογραφίας υποδοχέων, σε επίμυς που τους χορηγήθηκε WIN55212-2, ένας συνθετικός αγωνιστής του CB1 κανναβινοειδικού υποδοχέα, ο οποίος εμφανίζει παρόμοια δράση με την Δ9-τετραϋδροκανναβινόλη (THC), το φυσικό συστατικό του φυτού Cannabis sativa. Μελετήθηκαν τέσσερις ομάδες επίμυων όπου σε δύο από αυτές χορηγήθηκε WIN και στις υπόλοιπες δύο χορηγήθηκε ο διαλύτης του WIN, Vehicle. Στις δύο ομάδες που χορηγήθηκε WIN55212- 2 1mg/kg για 20 ημέρες, οι επίμυς της μίας ομάδας (ομάδα WIN) θανατώθηκαν 2 ώρες μετά από την τελευταία δόση ενώ οι επίμυς της άλλης ομάδας (ομάδα WIN+WITHD) θανατώθηκαν 7 ημέρες μετά την τελευταία δόση. Κατά το διάστημα αυτό δεν έγινε καμία χορήγηση ώστε να μελετηθεί αν οι επιπτώσεις της χρόνιας χορήγησης του WIN ήταν μόνιμες. Τα αποτελέσματά μας έδειξαν ότι μετά τη χρόνια χορήγηση του WIN τα επίπεδα έκφρασης των υπομονάδων του NMDA υποδοχέα μειώθηκαν στο ιππόκαμπο και την αμυγδαλή των επίμυων, ενώ μετά την διακοπή της χορήγησης του WIN, τα επίπεδα έκφρασης επανέχρονται. Είναι πιθανό ότι οι αλλαγές στην έκφραση και λειτουργία των υποδοχέων του γλουταμινικού που παρουσιάζονται ως προσαρμοστικές αλλαγές στο νευρικό σύστημα, να είναι ένας κοινός μηχανισμός με τον οποίο τα εθιστικά ναρκωτικά επηρεάζουν την νευρική λειτουργία. / The endocannabinoid system is a complicated endogenous signaling system that affects a variety of physiological processes and metabolic routes in human body (Cota and Woods, 2005). The endocannabinoid system includes the transmembrane cannabinoid receptors (CBR), the endocannabinoids and the enzymes that synthesize and degrade the endocannabinoids (Petrocellis et al., 2004). Cannabinoids have a variety of effects, such as impairment in learning and memory, modulation of emotional states, reduced motor control and analgesia. Cannabinoids inhibit synaptic transmission in several brain regions such as the hippocampus, nucleus accumbens and the prefrontal cortex mainly via presynaptic mechanisms. Glutamate is the most abundant excitatory neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system. The glutamatergic neurons are widely distributed in the central nervous system and play a role in many biological processes, including the coding of information, the formation and recovery of memories, the spatial recognition and maintaining the attention (McEntee και Crook, 1993). Because of its role in synaptic plasticity, glutamate is involved in cognitive functions like learning and memory in the brain. (McEntee και Crook, 1993). Glutamate activates three families of ionotropic receptors in postsynaptic cells, those are NMDA, AMPA and kainate receptors, while there are also metabotropic G proteins coupled glutamate receptors. Amygdala has a primary role in the processing of emotional reactions and memory, whereas hippocampus has an important role in the consolidation of informations from short term memory into long term memory and spatial navigation. These two brain regions contain a large number of CB1 and NMDA receptors, while recently, many studies suggest that animals treated with cannabinoids display significant changes in these two areas. The aim of this research was to study the changes in glutamatergic system in the amygdala and hippocampus of rats treated with cannabinoids. We focused on NMDA glutamate receptors, using in situ hybridization for studying the expression of NR1, NR2A and NR2B subunits and quantitative receptor autoradiography, in rats treated with WIN55212-2, a synthetic agonist of the CB1 cannabinoid receptor, which shows similar effects with delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a natural component of the plant Cannabis sativa. Adult rats were injected with WIN55212-2 (1mg/kg) and Vehicle. Animals received repeated administrations of WIN55212-2 1mg/kg once a day for 20 days. Animals in group WIN were sacrificed 2 hours after the last administration whereas in group WIN + WITHD were sacrificed 7 days after the last administration. During this time there was no administration of WIN so we could study whether the effects of chronic exposure were permanent. Our results demonstrate that chronic exposure to WIN55212-2 produced significant decreases in the expression of NMDA receptor's subunits in hippocampus and amygdala. These changes were reversed one week after abstinence. These adaptive synaptic changes may share common mechanisms with addictive drugs in modifying neural circuitry.

When a human or animal is threatened or confronted with a stimuli signalling danger, internal defence mechanisms are activated that evoke feelings of fear and anxiety. These emotional responses promote the behaviour patterns necessary for an organism's survival. Animal research seeks to understand how these emotions affect behaviour both physiologically and neurologically in order to develop effective treatment for those suffering from severe anxiety disorders. The aim of this thesis was to examine the role of the amygdala, and dorsal and ventral hippocampus in relation to immediate fear arousal brought on by footshock. This was assessed by examining whether muscimol would interfere with the acoustic startle response before or after footshock presentation, and then comparing these reactions to a control group that received saline infusions. The results of this research are extremely important because they identify various brain structures involved in the fear-arousing effects of footshock as measured by the shock sensitization of acoustic startle. Laboratory rats received muscimol (0.1ug and 0.01ug) infusions into the basolateral amygdala, dorsal and ventral hippocampus. These three brain regions have been identified as playing a prominent role in fear neurocircuitry. The results demonstrated that the GABA A receptor agonist muscimol in doses of 0.1ug and 0.01ug reliably blocked shock sensitization of the acoustic startle response. The muscimol doses did not alter the shock reactivity amplitudes therefore indicating a normal perception of the fear arousing properties of footshock. Therefore, the present study's results suggest that a decrease of GABA activity in the amygdala, dorsal and ventral hippocampus may be essential for the neuronal basis of fear acquisition and expression of unconditioned and conditioned stimuli.

The present study examined social status and adult neurogenesis in the naked mole rat. These animals live in large colonies with a strict reproductive dominance hierarchy; one female and 1-3 males breed, while other members are subordinate and reproductively suppressed. We examined whether social status affects doublecortin (DCX; a marker for immature neurons) immunoreactivity in the dentate gyrus, piriform cortex (PCx), and basolateral amygdala (BLA) by comparing breeders to subordinates. We also examined subordinates removed from their colony and paired with opposite- or same-sex conspecifics for 6 months. Breeders had reduced DCX immunoreactivity in all areas, with BLA effects confined to females. Effects of housing condition were region-specific, with higher PCx DCX immunoreactivity observed in opposite- than same-sex paired subordinates regardless of gonadal status. The opposite pattern was observed in the BLA. Future work will clarify whether findings are attributable to status differences in stress, behavioural plasticity, or life stage.

In the pathophysiology of traumatic brain injury (TBI), the amygdala remains understudied, despite involvement in processing emotional and stressful stimuli associated with anxiety disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Because the basolateral amygdala (BLA) integrates inputs from sensory and other limbic structures coordinating emotional learning and memory, injury-induced changes in circuitry may contribute to psychiatric sequelae of TBI. This study quantified temporal changes in dendritic complexity of BLA neurons after experimental diffuse TBI, modeled by midline fluid percussion injury. At post-injury days (PIDs) 1, 7, and 28, brain tissue from sham and brain-injured adult, male rats was processed for Golgi, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), or silver stain and analyzed to quantify BLA dendritic branch intersections, activated astrocytes, and regional neuropathology, respectively. Compared to sham, brain-injured rats at all PIDs showed enhanced dendritic branch intersections in both pyramidal and stellate BLA neuronal types, as evidenced by Sholl analysis. GFAP staining in the BLA was significantly increased at PID1 and 7 in comparison to sham. However, the BLA was relatively spared from neuropathology, demonstrated by an absence of argyrophilic accumulation over time, in contrast to other brain regions. These data suggest an early and persistent enhancement of dendritic complexity within the BLA after a single diffuse TBI. Increased dendritic complexity would alter information processing into and through the amygdala, contributing to emotional symptoms post-TBI, including PTSD.

Functional neuroimaging studies of autobiographical memory have grown dramatically in recent years. These studies are important because they can investigate the neural correlates of processes that are difficult to study using laboratory stimuli, including: (i) complex constructive processes, (ii) recollective qualities of emotion and vividness, and (iii) remote memory retrieval. Constructing autobiographical memories involves search, monitoring and self-referential processes that are associated with activity in separable prefrontal regions. The contributions of emotion and vividness have been linked to the amygdala and visual cortex respectively. Finally, there is evidence that recent and remote autobiographical memories might activate the hippocampus equally, which has implications for memory-consolidation theories. The rapid development of innovative methods for eliciting personal memories in the scanner provides the opportunity to delve into the functional neuroanatomy of our personal past. / Dissertation

Chronic pain alters sensory responses and carries a strong emotional component. Persistent pain can heighten pain experiences, resulting in hyperalgesia and allodynia. Further, patients suffering from chronic pain are more prone to experience a range of affective disorders including depression, sleep dysregulation, panic disorders, anxiety abnormalities and stress-related disorders including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Hence while pain serves a protective function to prevent additional physiological harm by driving behavioral and cognitive responses, chronic or persistent pain can lead to maladaptive nociceptive responses and exacerbate psychopathologies. Among brain regions, the amygdala is centrally situated to integrate the many descending and ascending signals to modulate the sensory and emotional components of pain. The amygdala is well studied for its role in fear and stress-related behavioral processes. The central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA), and in particular the lateral capsular subdivision of the CeA (CeLC), receives prominent ascending pain neurotransmission via the spino- parabrachioamygdaloid tract. In this pathway, peripheral nociceptive signals carried via primary sensory Aδ- and C-fibers terminate in the dorsal horn where second order neurons send projections via the spino-parabrachial pathway to the lateral parabrachial nucleus (LPBn). Thus, the LPBn collects cutaneous (mechanical and thermal), deep (muscular and articular) and visceral nociceptive signals and relays the information in a highly organized manner principally to the CeLC for nociceptive processing. In pain, the CeA and the LPBn-CeLC projections have been shown to undergo plasticity in the forms of enhanced synaptic transmission and alterations in neurotransmitter and receptor expression. Accordingly, the neurocircuit intersections in the CeA can modulate the sensory and emotional responses to pain. Yet despite these associations, the mediators and mechanisms underlying the emotional consequences of pain are poorly understood. Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) is a neural and endocrine pleiotropic peptide important in the development and homeostatic regulation of many physiological systems. Recently, the expression of PACAP and its cognate PAC1 receptor has been shown to be upregulated in specific limbic regions by chronic stress. PACAP infusions into several limbic regions is anxiogenic, and altered blood PACAP levels and PAC1 receptor polymorphism have been associated with PTSD and other stress-related disorders. Here, we establish that CeLC PACAP originates from the LPBn as part of the spino-parabrachoamygdaloid pathway. Chronic pain enhanced PACAP expression along LPBn-CeLC projections, indicating it may be a component of pain- related plasticity. CeA PACAP signaling was sufficient to induce nociceptive hypersensitivity and anxiety-like behaviors. In a chronic neuropathic pain model, CeA PACAP signaling was found to contribute to heightened anxiety-like behaviors and nociceptive responses. Further, we characterized one prominent intracellular signaling mechanism through which CeA PACAP signaling influences these behaviors. In these experiments we provide evidence that CeA PACAP signaling plays an important role in the emotional components of pain and that alterations in CeA PACAP signaling are part of pain-related plasticity. This work establishes novel molecular mechanisms that underlie the emotional component of pain and may contribute to the development of chronic pain and associated affective disorders.

Background: The five-factor model is the most prominent theory in personality science which aspire to understand the thoughts, feelings and behavior of individuals, determined by five relatively stable domains. Neuroticism, defined as a higher threat reactivity and susceptibility to negative affect, is one domain which has proven problematic for well-being, and has estimated societal costs of approximately 2.5 times that of common mental disorder per 1 million inhabitants. Problem: The neural correlates of neuroticism could supply research with a fundamental base of understanding the trait, however, due to scattered founding’s of segregated activity in brain structures relative to neuroticism, meta-analyses argue that increased understanding of global rather than local organization, could be more fruitful for the investigation. Methodology: Since neuroticism is convergent with emotional instability, two structures of interest with regards to global organization are the amygdala, crucial for emotion generation, and the prefrontal cortex (PFC), responsible for emotion interpretation and emotion regulation. Reviewing brain imaging research conducted with emphasis on integrative communication between the amygdala and the PFC in individuals with high trait neuroticism has therefore been the main objective of this thesis. Results/conclusion: According to the investigated research there is compromised structural integrity correlated with neuroticism, while the research on functional communication between the structures explored is not yet sufficiently covered to supply a satisfactory answer. Some of these neurobiological findings are in line with personality science observation in neuroticism, and could hence contribute to the investigation. However, more research is warranted in this field of neuroscience.

Thesis advisor: Alexa H. Veenema / The poorly understood, but robust sex differences in prevalence, symptom severity, and treatment responses of many psychiatric disorders characterized by social dysfunction signifies the importance of understanding the neurobiological mechanisms underlying sex differences in the regulation of social behaviors. One potential system involved is the oxytocin (OT) system. OT is an evolutionarily conserved neuropeptide that has been implicated in the regulation of a variety of social behaviors in rodents and humans. This thesis aims to clarify the role of OT in sex-specific regulation of social behavior and brain function in rats. Study 1 characterized sex differences in the OT system in the brain, and found that males show higher OT receptor (OTR) binding densities in several forebrain regions compared to females. Studies 2 and 3 then determined the relevance of these sex differences in OTR binding densities for the sex-specific regulation of social behavior using pharmacological manipulations of the OTR and in vivo measurement of OT release. Study 2 focused on the function of the OT system in the posterior bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNSTp), because this region showed the largest sex difference in OTR binding density, and is part of the core social behavior network. Results show that endogenous OT in the BNSTp is important for social recognition in both sexes, but that exogenous OT facilitated social recognition in males only. Furthermore, social recognition in males, but not in females, was associated with higher endogenous OT release in BNSTp. This study is the first to provide a link between sex differences in OTR binding density and OT release with sex-specific regulation of social recognition by OT. Study 3 focused on amygdala subregions because these regions were found to show sex-specific correlations of OTR binding density with social interest. Results show that the OT system modulates social interest in the central amygdala (CeA), but not the medial amygdala, in sex-specific ways, with activation of the OTR in the CeA facilitating social interest in males, but not in females. These results provide evidence that the CeA is a brain region involved in the sex-specific processing of social stimuli by the OT system. Finally, Study 4 examined whether sex differences in OTR binding densities in forebrain regions lead to sex-specific brain activation in response to OT. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to examine blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) activation in awake male and female rats following central or peripheral administration of OT. Central OT administration induced sex differences in BOLD activation in numerous brain regions (including several regions with denser OTR binding in males), in which males showed predominantly higher activation compared to females. Peripheral OT administration also induced sex differences in BOLD activation, but in fewer brain regions and in different brain regions compared to central OT, indicating that the pattern and the magnitude of sex differences in neural activation induced by OT strongly depend on the route of administration. Together, outcomes of this thesis provide novel insight into the sexual dimorphic structure and function of the OT system in rats, and highlights the fact that research seeking a full understanding of the role of the OT system in behavioral and brain responses is incomplete without the inclusion of both sexes. These results may be informative given the increasing popularity of the use of OT as a potential therapeutic agent in the treatment of social dysfunction in sex-biased psychiatric disorders. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Psychology.

Thesis advisor: Jon C. Horvitz / Previous research has yielded conflicting results regarding the involvement of mesolimbic dopamine in Pavlovian and operant tasks. While there is abundant evidence that an operant lever press requires intact dopamine (DA) D1 transmission in the nucleus accumbens (ACB) and in the basolateral amygdala (BLA), there is conflicting evidence regarding the specific brain sites at which DA mediates a Pavlovian approach response. The present study was designed to compare the effects of ACB and BLA D1 receptor-blockade on an operant and Pavlovian task, while minimizing differences in behavioral response topography. Animals were trained on either a Pavlovian cued approach task or an operant cued nosepoke task. In the Pavlovian approach task, a tone signaled a pellet delivery to which animals responded with a head entry into a food compartment. In the operant nosepoke task, animals were trained to emit a nosepoke in response to the same tone, in order to trigger a pellet delivery. Bilateral microinfusions of the D1 antagonist SCH 23390 (0, 1 or 2 microgram/side) into either the ACB or the BLA produced a dose-dependent disruption of the operant nosepoke. In contrast, the Pavlovian cued approach response was unaffected by D1 antagonist microinfusions into either the ACB or the BLA. In addition, infusion of SCH 23390 into either site suppressed general locomotion. The results suggest a dissociation of the anatomical substrates mediating an operant nosepoke and a Pavlovian approach, despite similar response topographies. These findings are consistent with the notion that D1 activity at the ACB and BLA plays a role in the expression of operant responses, but not in the expression of Pavlovian approach responses. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2010. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Psychology.