Pharmacological stimulation of infralimbic cortex after fear conditioning facilitates subsequent fear extinction
Bayer H, Hassell J, Oleksiak C, Garcia G, Vaughan H, Juliano V, Maren S. Pharmacological stimulation of infralimbic cortex after fear conditioning facilitates subsequent fear extinction. Neuropsychopharmacology 2024, 1-7. PMID: 39138373, DOI: 10.1038/s41386-024-01961-9.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMedial prefrontal cortexFear conditioningConditioned freezingConditioned stimulusExtinction of conditioned fear memoryConsolidation of fear conditioningExtinction of conditioned fearAuditory conditioned stimulusConditioned fear memoryGABAA receptor antagonistExtinction trainingExtinction learningPicrotoxin infusionConditioned fearFear extinctionInfralimbic cortexPrefrontal cortexFear suppressionInhibitory memoryFear memoryExtinction retrievalPicrotoxin injectionNeuronal plasticityFemale ratsReceptor antagonistSuppression of the host antiviral response by non-infectious varicella zoster virus extracellular vesicles.
Niemeyer C, Frietze S, Coughlan C, Lewis S, Bustos Lopez S, Saviola A, Hansen K, Medina E, Hassell J, Kogut S, Traina-Dorge V, Nagel M, Bruce K, Restrepo D, Mahalingam R, Bubak A. Suppression of the host antiviral response by non-infectious varicella zoster virus extracellular vesicles. Journal Of Virology 2024, e0084824. PMID: 39051773, DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00848-24.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchVaricella zoster virusVZV pathogenesisVaricella zoster virus infectionSmall extracellular vesiclesZoster virusExtracellular vesiclesSensory neuronsHost antiviral responseHost immune evasion strategyMulti-omics approachHuman sensory neuronsReduce systemic complicationsUnilateral dermatomal distributionVZV-infected neuronsCell-cell contactEvasion strategiesGanglion sensory neuronsType 1 interferon responseSusceptibility to co-infectionImmune-evasion mechanismsImmune evasion strategiesSite of infectionViral spreadHost proteinsBacterial pathogensHippocampal Engrams and Contextual Memory
Vasudevan K, Hassell J, Maren S. Hippocampal Engrams and Contextual Memory. Advances In Neurobiology 2024, 38: 45-66. PMID: 39008010, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-62983-9_4.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsContextual fear conditioningFear conditioningFear memoryRetrieval of contextual fear memoryRetrieval of aversive memoriesNeural substrates of memoryPost-traumatic stress disorderContextual fear memorySubstrate of memoryActivity-dependent taggingRetrieval of eventsAversive memoryEncoding contextStress disorderContextual stimuliNeural substratesMemory ensemblesHippocampal ensemblesNeuronal mechanismsContextual learningHippocampusMemoryFearRetrievalEncodingHigh-fat diet, microbiome-gut-brain axis signaling, and anxiety-like behavior in male rats
de Noronha S, de Moraes L, Hassell J, Stamper C, Arnold M, Heinze J, Foxx C, Lieb M, Cler K, Karns B, Jaekel S, Loupy K, Silva F, Chianca-Jr. D, Lowry C, de Menezes R. High-fat diet, microbiome-gut-brain axis signaling, and anxiety-like behavior in male rats. Biological Research 2024, 57: 23. PMID: 38705984, PMCID: PMC11071217, DOI: 10.1186/s40659-024-00505-1.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsDefensive behavioral responsesSerotonergic gene expressionDorsal raphe nucleusSlc6a4 mRNA expressionBehavioral responsesMicrobiome-gut-brainRaphe nucleusAnxiety-related behavioral responsesBrain serotonergic systemSerotonergic brain systemAnxiety-like behaviorMale ratsAxis signalingHigh-fat dietBrain systemsSerotonergic systemAssociated with stressCommunity compositionGut microbiomeGene expressionAbundance of BlautiaHTR1AGut microbiome diversityTPH2SLC6A4Neural circuits for the adaptive regulation of fear and extinction memory
Plas S, Tuna T, Bayer H, Juliano V, Sweck S, Perez A, Hassell J, Maren S. Neural circuits for the adaptive regulation of fear and extinction memory. Frontiers In Behavioral Neuroscience 2024, 18: 1352797. PMID: 38370858, PMCID: PMC10869525, DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2024.1352797.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchRegulation of fearExtinction learningExtinction memoryFear memoryNeural mechanismsExtinction of Pavlovian fear conditioningRegulation of fear memoryNeural circuitsPrefrontal-hippocampal interactionsMedial prefrontal cortexExposure-based therapyPavlovian fear conditioningThalamic nucleus reuniensStress-related disordersEffects of stressPrefrontal cortexFear conditioningContextual controlNucleus reuniensAdaptive behaviorAdaptive regulationClinical implicationsMemoryRodent modelsPharmacological interventions