Persistently increased post-stress activity of paraventricular thalamic neurons is essential for the emergence of stress-induced maladaptive behavior

Jasz, A.; Biro, L.; Buday, Z.; Kiraly, B.; Szalardy, O.; Horvath, K.; Komlosi, G.; Bodizs, R.; Kovacs, K. J.; Diana, M. A.; Hangya, B.; Acsady, L.

doi:10.1101/2023.04.20.537629

bioRxiv · 10.1101/2023.04.20.537629

Persistently increased post-stress activity of paraventricular thalamic neurons is essential for the emergence of stress-induced maladaptive behavior

Jasz, A.·Biro, L.·Buday, Z.·Kiraly, B.·Szalardy, O.·Horvath, K.·Komlosi, G.·Bodizs, R.·Kovacs, K. J.·Diana, M. A.·Hangya, B.·Acsady, L.

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Abstract

ABSTRACTTraumatic events can immediately lead to debilitating symptoms collectively called Acute Stress Disorder (ASD), however the mechanisms of ASD are poorly understood. Using a rodent model of ASD here we identify a crucial communication bottleneck between the brainstem and the forebrain, the calretinin-positive neurons in the paraventricular thalamus (PVT/CR+), that controls ASD. We show that following a single acute stress event, the pre-sleep behavior of the mice is altered for several days in parallel with a persistent increase in the firing rate of PVT/CR+ cells. Optogenetic inhibition of PVT/CR+ neuronal activity after the stress event for one hour was sufficient to rescue both the ASD symptoms and the prolonged increase in PVT/CR+ firing rate. Inhibition applied 5 days later was still able to ameliorate some of the symptoms. These data suggest that post-stress activity of PVT/CR+ neurons play a critical role in mediating the acute forms of stress-related affective dysfunctions. One-Sentence SummaryPost-stress inhibition of paraventricular thalamic neurons prevents the emergence of acute stressed phenotype.

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Jasz, A., Biro, L., Buday, Z., Kiraly, B., Szalardy, O., Horvath, K., Komlosi, G., Bodizs, R., Kovacs, K. J., Diana, M. A., Hangya, B., Acsady, L.. 2023-04-20. Persistently increased post-stress activity of paraventricular thalamic neurons is essential for the emergence of stress-induced maladaptive behavior. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.04.20.537629

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