Altered resonance properties of somatosensory responses in mice deficient for the schizophrenia risk gene Neuregulin 1

Claudia S Barz; Thomas Bessaih; Ted Abel; Dirk Feldmeyer; Diego Contreras

doi:10.1007/s00429-015-1169-6

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Altered resonance properties of somatosensory responses in mice deficient for the schizophrenia risk gene Neuregulin 1

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Altered resonance properties of somatosensory responses in mice deficient for the schizophrenia risk gene Neuregulin 1

Claudia S Barz, Thomas Bessaih, Ted Abel, Dirk Feldmeyer and Diego Contreras

Brain structure & function, Vol.221(9), pp.4383-4398

12/2016

DOI: 10.1007/s00429-015-1169-6

PMCID: PMC5040624

PMID: 26721794

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Abstract

To reveal the neuronal underpinnings of sensory processing deficits in patients with schizophrenia, previous studies have investigated brain activity in response to sustained sensory stimulation at various frequencies. This paradigm evoked neural activity at the stimulation frequency and harmonics thereof. During visual and auditory stimulation that elicited enhanced or 'resonant' responses in healthy controls, patients with schizophrenia displayed reduced activity. The present study sought to elucidate the cellular basis of disease-related deficits in sensory resonance properties using mice heterozygous for the schizophrenia susceptibility gene Neuregulin 1 (NRG1). We applied repetitive whisker stimulation at 1-15 Hz, a range relevant to whisking behavior in mice, and measured cellular activity in the primary somatosensory cortex. At frequencies where control mice displayed enhancements in measures of response magnitude and precision, NRG1 (+/-) mutants showed reductions. Our results demonstrate for the first time a link between a mutation of a schizophrenia risk gene and altered neuronal resonance properties in sensory cortex.

Adaptation, Physiological

Physical Stimulation

Mice, Inbred C57BL

Neuregulin-1 - physiology

Male

Mice, Transgenic

Touch Perception - physiology

Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory

Neuregulin-1 - genetics

Action Potentials

Somatosensory Cortex - physiology

Animals

Vibrissae - physiology

Schizophrenia - physiopathology

Neurons - physiology

Mice

Details

Title: Subtitle: Altered resonance properties of somatosensory responses in mice deficient for the schizophrenia risk gene Neuregulin 1
Creators: Claudia S Barz - IZKF Aachen, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany. c.barz@fz-juelich.de
Thomas Bessaih - Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Laboratoire Neuroscience Paris Seine, 9 quai Staint Bernard, Bat B, 5e etage, Case courrier 16, 75005, Paris, France
Ted Abel - 10-133 Smilow Center for Translational Research, 3400 Civic Center Boulevard, Building 421, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
Dirk Feldmeyer - Jülich Aachen Research Alliance (JARA)-Translational Brain Medicine, Aachen, Germany
Diego Contreras - Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 215 Stemmler Hall, Philadelphia, PA, 19104-6074, USA
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Brain structure & function, Vol.221(9), pp.4383-4398
DOI: 10.1007/s00429-015-1169-6
PMID: 26721794
PMCID: PMC5040624
NLM abbreviation: Brain Struct Funct
ISSN: 1863-2653
eISSN: 1863-2661
Publisher: Germany
Grant note: R01 EY020765 / NEI NIH HHS U54 HD086984 / NICHD NIH HHS P50 MH064045 / NIMH NIH HHS P50 MH096891 / NIMH NIH HHS
Language: English
Date published: 12/2016
Academic Unit: Molecular Physiology and Biophysics; Psychiatry; Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute; Neuroscience and Pharmacology; Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Record Identifier: 9984065823802771

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