La plasticité synaptique dans l'habénula latérale contrôle la décharge neuronale : implications en physiologie et l'addiction aux drogues

The capacity of the brain to anticipate and seek future rewards or alternatively escape aversive events allows individuals to adapt to their environment. A considerable research effort has focused on unraveling the cellular and synaptic mechanisms within the meso-cortico-limbic system underlying motivational processing both in physiological conditions and in pathologies such as addiction and depression. However, only recently we begin to understand the circuit substrates capable to control midbrain monoaminergic nuclei and their contribution to motivated behaviors. The Lateral Habenula (LHb) has emerged in the last decade, as a major player encoding stimuli with motivational value and in controlling monoaminergic systems. The wiring of this epithalamic structure subserves discrete features of motivated behaviors, including preference and avoidance. Recent advances have also demonstrated that aberrant modifications in LHb function trigger negative emotional states in disorders including depression and addiction, highlighting the LHb as an important brain target for therapeutic intervention for these pathological states. In my thesis work I first sought to investigate how modulation of synaptic transmission in the LHb controls neuronal activity, especially focusing on the role of metabotropic glutamate receptors. In a second study, I expanded my work examining how drug experience changes synaptic transmission in a precise habenular circuit that we discovered to be crucial for depressive states during cocaine withdrawal. In an initial data set, we found that, in the LHb, metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 activation drives a PKC-dependent long term depression of excitatory (eLTD) and inhibitory (iLTD) synaptic transmission. Despite the common induction, eLTD and iLTD diverged in their expression mechanism. While eLTD required endocannabinoid-dependent reduction of glutamate release, iLTD expressed postsynaptically through a decrease of β2-containing GABAA receptors function. Further, eLTD and iLTD bidirectionally controlled LHb neuronal output. In a second study, we showed that chronic cocaine exposure leads to a persistent and projection-specific increase of excitatory synaptic transmission onto LHb neurons. This form of synaptic potentiation required membrane insertion of GluA1-containing AMPA receptors and a reduction in potassium channels function ultimately leading to increased LHb neuronal excitability both in vitro and in vivo. These cocaine-driven adaptations within the LHb were instrumental for depressive-like states emerging after drug withdrawal. Altogether this work demonstrates how synaptic plasticity in the LHb affects neuronal output and thereby contributes to behaviors associated with the pathology of motivation.La survie des individus dépend de leur capacité d’anticiper la survenue d’une récompense ou d’un danger leur permettant ainsi de s’adapter à leur environnement. De considérables efforts ont été réalisés pour identifier les mécanismes cellulaires et synaptiques ayant lieu au niveau du circuit de la récompense afin d’avoir une meilleure compréhension des processus sous tendant des états motivationnels physiologiques et pathologiques tels que l’addiction et la dépression. Pour autant, ce n’est que récemment qu’on commence à comprendre les circuits capables de contrôler les systèmes monoaminergiques mésencéphaliques et leurs contributions aux comportements motivés. Dans les dernières décennies l’habénula latérale (LHb) a émergé comme un acteur majeur capable d’encoder des stimuli de valeur motivationnelle et de contrôler les systèmes monoaminergiques. La connectivité de cette structure épithalamique joue un rôle clé dans différents aspects des comportements motivationnels, comme l’approche et la fuite. Des avancées récentes ont aussi démontré que des altérations de la fonction de la LHb entrainent des états émotionnels négatifs caractéristiques de la dépression et l’addiction. Ces observations suggèrent que la LHb pourrait s’avérer une cible importante pour le traitement de ces pathologies. Au cours de mon travail de thèse, j’ai d’abord cherché à comprendre comment moduler la transmission synaptique au niveau de la LHb pouvait contrôler son activité. Pour répondre à cette question, je me suis focalisée sur le rôle des récepteurs métabotropiques au glutamate (mGluRs). Dans une seconde étude, j’ai examiné les mécanismes par lesquels les drogues d’abus modifient la transmission synaptique des neurones de la LHb. Ces modifications se produisent spécifiquement dans les neurones LHb se projetant vers le noyau tegmental rostral (RMT) et sont nécessaires pour l’émergence des états dépressifs. Dans un premier temps, nous avons démontré qu’au niveau de la LHb les mGluRs de type I sont capables d’induire une dépression à long terme de la transmission synaptique excitatrice (eLTD) et inhibitrice (iLTD). Ces deux formes de plasticité dépendent de la signalisation PKC, mais requièrent des mécanismes d’expression différents. Tandis que eLTD réduit la probabilité de libération du glutamate via l’activation de récepteurs présynaptiques aux endocannabinoides (CB1), iLTD s’exprime par la réduction de la fonction des récepteurs GABAA postsynaptiques contenant la sous-unité β2. De plus, eLTD and iLTD exercent un contrôle bidirectionnel sur la décharge des neurones de la LHb. Dans un second temps, nous avons mis en évidence qu’une exposition chronique à la cocaïne produit une augmentation persistante de la transmission excitatrice au niveau des neurones de la LHb ciblant le RMTg. Cette forme de potentialisation synaptique nécessite l’insertion membranaire de récepteurs contenant la sous-unité GluA1, ainsi que la réduction de conductances potassiques entrainant une hyperexcitabilité neuronale in vitro et in vivo dans la LHb. Ces modifications sont nécessaires pour l’établissement d’états dépressifs émergeant lors de la période de sevrage à la cocaïne. En conclusion, ce travail a contribué à la compréhension de mécanismes de plasticité synaptique ayant lieu au niveau de la LHb et leurs répercussions pour son activité contrôlant ainsi des comportements motivationnels

mGluR-LTD at Excitatory and Inhibitory Synapses in the Lateral Habenula Tunes Neuronal Output

Excitatory and inhibitory transmission onto lateral habenula (LHb) neurons is instrumental for the expression of positive and negative motivational states. However, insights into the molecular mechanisms modulating synaptic transmission and the repercussions for neuronal activity within the LHb remain elusive. Here, we report that, in mice, activation of group I metabotropic glutamate receptors triggers long-term depression at excitatory (eLTD) and inhibitory (iLTD) synapses in the LHb. mGluR-eLTD and iLTD rely on mGluR1 and PKC signaling. However, mGluR-dependent adaptations of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission differ in their expression mechanisms. mGluR-eLTD occurs via an endocannabinoid receptor-dependent decrease in glutamate release. Conversely, mGluR-iLTD occurs postsynaptically through PKC-dependent reduction of β2-containing GABAA-R function. Finally, mGluR-dependent plasticity of excitation or inhibition decides the direction of neuronal firing, providing a synaptic mechanism to bidirectionally control LHb output. We propose mGluR-LTD as a cellular substrate that underlies LHb-dependent encoding of opposing motivational states

Limiting habenular hyperactivity ameliorates maternal separation-driven depressive-like symptoms

Early-life stress primes depression in adulthood. This study shows that early maternal separation leads to lateral habenula (LHb) hyperactivity and causes depressive-like phenotypes, the latter being reversible when LHb hyperactivity is reduced chemogenetically or through deep-brain stimulation

Synaptic and cellular profile of neurons in the lateral habenula.

International audienceThe lateral habenula (LHb) is emerging as a crucial structure capable of conveying rewarding and aversive information. Recent evidence indicates that a rapid increase in the activity of LHb neurons drives negative states and avoidance. Furthermore, the hyperexcitability of neurons in the LHb, especially those projecting to the midbrain, may represent an important cellular correlate for neuropsychiatric disorders like depression and drug addiction. Despite the recent insights regarding the implications of the LHb in the context of reward and aversion, the exact nature of the synaptic and cellular players regulating LHb neuronal functions remains largely unknown. Here we focus on the synaptic and cellular physiology of LHb neurons. First, we discuss the properties of excitatory transmission and the implications of glutamate receptors for long-term synaptic plasticity; second, we review the features of GABAergic transmission onto LHb neurons; and finally, we describe the contribution that neuromodulators such as dopamine (DA) and serotonin may have for LHb neuronal physiology. We relate these findings to the role that the LHb can play in processing aversive and rewarding stimuli, both in health and disease states

An amygdala-to-cingulate cortex circuit for conflicting choices in chronic pain

Summary: Chronic pain is a complex experience with multifaceted behavioral manifestations, often leading to pain avoidance at the expense of reward approach. How pain facilitates avoidance in situations with mixed outcomes is unknown. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) plays a key role in pain processing and in value-based decision-making. Distinct ACC inputs inform about the sensory and emotional quality of pain. However, whether specific ACC circuits underlie pathological conflict assessment in pain remains underexplored. Here, we demonstrate that mice with chronic pain favor cold avoidance rather than reward approach in a conflicting task. This occurs along with selective strengthening of basolateral amygdala inputs onto ACC layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons. The amygdala-cingulate projection is necessary and sufficient for the conflicting cold avoidance. Further, low-frequency stimulation of this pathway restores AMPA receptor function and reduces avoidance in pain mice. Our findings provide insights into the circuits and mechanisms underlying cognitive aspects of pain and offer potential targets for treatment

Long-Lasting, Pathway-Specific Impairment of a Novel Form of Spike-Timing-Dependent Long-Term Depression by Neuropathic Pain in the Anterior Cingulate Cortex

Malfunctioning synaptic plasticity is one of the major mechanisms contributing to the development of chronic pain. We studied spike-timing dependent depression (tLTD) in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) of male mice, a brain region involved in processing emotional aspects of pain. tLTD onto layer 5 pyramidal neurons depended on postsynaptic calcium-influx through GluN2B-containing NMDARs and retrograde signaling via nitric oxide to reduce presynaptic release probability. After chronic constriction injury of the sciatic nerve, a model for neuropathic pain, tLTD was rapidly impaired; and this phenotype persisted even beyond the time of recovery from mechanical sensitization. Exclusion of GluN2B-containing NMDARs from the postsynaptic site specifically at projections from the anterior thalamus to the ACC caused the tLTD phenotype, whereas signaling downstream of nitric oxide synthesis remained intact. Thus, transient neuropathic pain can leave a permanent trace manifested in the disturbance of synaptic plasticity in a specific afferent pathway to the cortex. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Synaptic plasticity is one of the main mechanisms that contributes to the development of chronic pain. Most studies have focused on potentiation of excitatory synaptic transmission, but very little is known about the reduction in synaptic strength. We have focused on the ACC, a brain region associated with the processing of emotional and affective components of pain. We studied spike-timing dependent LTD, which is a biologically plausible form of synaptic plasticity, that depends on the relative timing of presynaptic and postsynaptic activity. We found a long-lasting and pathway-specific suppression of the induction mechanism for spike-timing dependent LTD from the anterior thalamus to the ACC, suggesting that this pathology might be involved in altered emotional processing in pain

Ventral Subiculum Stimulation Promotes Persistent Hyperactivity of Dopamine Neurons and Facilitates Behavioral Effects of Cocaine

The ventral subiculum (vSUB) plays a key role in addiction, and identifying the neuronal circuits and synaptic mechanisms by which vSUB alters the excitability of dopamine neurons is a necessary step to understand the motor changes induced by cocaine. Here, we report that high-frequency stimulation of the vSUB (HFSvSUB) over-activates ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine neurons in vivo and triggers long-lasting modifications of synaptic transmission measured ex vivo. This potentiation is caused by NMDA-dependent plastic changes occurring in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST). Finally, we report that the modification of the BNST-VTA neural circuits induced by HFSvSUB potentiates locomotor activity induced by a sub-threshold dose of cocaine. Our findings unravel a neuronal circuit encoding behavioral effects of cocaine in rats and highlight the importance of adaptive modifications in the BNST, a structure that influences motivated behavior as well as maladaptive behaviors associated with addiction

Cocaine-evoked negative symptoms require AMPA receptor trafficking in the lateral habenula

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