TY - JOUR
T1 - Fear induced neuronal alterations in a genetic model of depression
T2 - An fMRI study on awake animals
AU - Huang, Wei
AU - Heffernan, Meghan E.
AU - Li, Zhixin
AU - Zhang, Nanyin
AU - Overstreet, David H.
AU - King, Jean A.
N1 - Funding Information:
This publication was made possible by the NIH Grant Number 1RO1 MH067096 . Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.
PY - 2011/2/4
Y1 - 2011/2/4
N2 - Previous human imaging studies used facial stimuli to explore the potential association between depression and fear. This study aimed at investigating brain alterations in a rodent model of depression when innate fear was induced in the form of the predator odor trimethylthiazoline (TMT). Flinders sensitive line (FSL) rats, a genetic animal model of depression, and their control counterpart Flinders resistant line (FRL), were used in this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) assessment. Compared to FRL, FSL rats exhibited greater BOLD activation in the cortical amygdala and hypoactivation in the prefrontal cortex in response to TMT, suggesting cortico-amygdalar dysfunction in the depressed strain. In addition, the hyperactivation in the insular cortex in FSL rats may be the basis for enhanced neuronal responses to fear and aversion in depression. These results are evidence for the value of translational models of depression in expanding understanding of the neural circuitries sub-serving common human co-morbidities like depression and fear.
AB - Previous human imaging studies used facial stimuli to explore the potential association between depression and fear. This study aimed at investigating brain alterations in a rodent model of depression when innate fear was induced in the form of the predator odor trimethylthiazoline (TMT). Flinders sensitive line (FSL) rats, a genetic animal model of depression, and their control counterpart Flinders resistant line (FRL), were used in this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) assessment. Compared to FRL, FSL rats exhibited greater BOLD activation in the cortical amygdala and hypoactivation in the prefrontal cortex in response to TMT, suggesting cortico-amygdalar dysfunction in the depressed strain. In addition, the hyperactivation in the insular cortex in FSL rats may be the basis for enhanced neuronal responses to fear and aversion in depression. These results are evidence for the value of translational models of depression in expanding understanding of the neural circuitries sub-serving common human co-morbidities like depression and fear.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=78651448659&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=78651448659&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.neulet.2010.11.069
DO - 10.1016/j.neulet.2010.11.069
M3 - Article
C2 - 21134416
AN - SCOPUS:78651448659
SN - 0304-3940
VL - 489
SP - 74
EP - 78
JO - Neuroscience letters
JF - Neuroscience letters
IS - 2
ER -