Prefrontal cortex reactivity underlies trait vulnerability to chronic social defeat stress

Sunil Kumar; Rainbo Hultman; Dalton Hughes; Nadine Michel; Brittany M Katz; Kafui Dzirasa

doi:10.1038/ncomms5537

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Prefrontal cortex reactivity underlies trait vulnerability to chronic social defeat stress

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Prefrontal cortex reactivity underlies trait vulnerability to chronic social defeat stress

Sunil Kumar, Rainbo Hultman, Dalton Hughes, Nadine Michel, Brittany M Katz and Kafui Dzirasa

Nature communications, Vol.5(1), pp.4537-4537

07/29/2014

DOI: 10.1038/ncomms5537

PMCID: PMC4148151

PMID: 25072279

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Abstract

Psychological stress contributes to the onset and exacerbation of nearly all neuropsychiatric disorders. Individual differences in stress-regulatory circuits can therefore dramatically affect vulnerability to these illnesses. Here we identify neural circuit mechanisms underlying individual differences in vulnerability to stress using a murine model of chronic social defeat stress. In chronically stressed mice, we find that the degree of prefrontal cortex (PFC) control of amygdala activity predicts stress susceptibility in individual mice. Critically, we also find that individual differences in PFC activation (that is, reactivity) during exposure to an aggressor mouse predict the emergence stress-induced behavioural deficits in stress-naïve mice. Finally, we show that naturally occurring differences in PFC reactivity directly correspond to the intrinsic firing rate of PFC neurons. This demonstrates that naturally occurring differences in PFC function underlie individual differences in vulnerability to stress, raising the hypothesis that PFC modulation may prevent stress-induced psychiatric disorders.

Amygdala - physiopathology

Neurophysiological Monitoring

Animals

Social Behavior

Mice, Inbred C57BL

Prefrontal Cortex - physiopathology

Mice

Aggression - psychology

Stress, Psychological - physiopathology

Details

Title: Subtitle: Prefrontal cortex reactivity underlies trait vulnerability to chronic social defeat stress
Creators: Sunil Kumar - 1] Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA
Rainbo Hultman - 1] Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA
Dalton Hughes - Meyerhoff Scholarship Program, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, Maryland 21250, USA
Nadine Michel - Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA
Brittany M Katz - Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA
Kafui Dzirasa - 1] Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA Center for Neuroengineering, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA Department of Biomedical Engineering and Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Nature communications, Vol.5(1), pp.4537-4537
Publisher: England
DOI: 10.1038/ncomms5537
PMID: 25072279
PMCID: PMC4148151
ISSN: 2041-1723
eISSN: 2041-1723
Grant note: R37MH073853 / NIMH NIH HHS R01MH099192 / NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH099192 / NIMH NIH HHS R37 MH073853 / NIMH NIH HHS
Language: English
Date published: 07/29/2014
Academic Unit: Molecular Physiology and Biophysics; Psychiatry; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
Record Identifier: 9984065853802771

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