Synaptic abnormalities in the infralimbic cortex of a model of congenital depression

Seese, R. R., Chen, L. Y., Cox, C. D., Schulz, D., Babayan, A. H., Bunney, W. E., Henn, F. A., Gall, C. M., Lynch, G. (August 2013) Synaptic abnormalities in the infralimbic cortex of a model of congenital depression. Journal of Neuroscience, 33 (33). pp. 13441-8. ISSN 0270-6474

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URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23946402
DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2434-13.2013

Abstract

Multiple lines of evidence suggest that disturbances in excitatory transmission contribute to depression. Whether these defects involve the number, size, or composition of glutamatergic contacts is unclear. This study used recently introduced procedures for fluorescence deconvolution tomography in a well-studied rat model of congenital depression to characterize excitatory synapses in layer I of infralimbic cortex, a region involved in mood disorders, and of primary somatosensory cortex. Three groups were studied: (1) rats bred for learned helplessness (cLH); (2) rats resistant to learned helplessness (cNLH); and (3) control Sprague Dawley rats. In fields within infralimbic cortex, cLH rats had the same numerical density of synapses, immunolabeled for either the postsynaptic density (PSD) marker PSD95 or the presynaptic protein synaptophysin, as controls. However, PSD95 immunolabeling intensities were substantially lower in cLH rats, as were numerical densities of synapse-sized clusters of the AMPA receptor subunit GluA1. Similar but less pronounced differences (comparable numerical densities but reduced immunolabeling intensity for PSD95) were found in the somatosensory cortex. In contrast, non-helpless rats had 25% more PSDs than either cLH or control rats without any increase in synaptophysin-labeled terminal frequency. Compared with controls, both cLH and cNLH rats had fewer GABAergic contacts. These results indicate that congenital tendencies that increase or decrease depression-like behavior differentially affect excitatory synapses.

Item Type: Paper
Subjects: diseases & disorders > mental disorders
diseases & disorders > mental disorders > mood disorders
organs, tissues, organelles, cell types and functions > tissues types and functions > cerebral cortex
diseases & disorders > mental disorders > mood disorders > depression
organs, tissues, organelles, cell types and functions > sub-cellular tissues: types and functions > synapse
CSHL Authors:
Communities: CSHL labs > Henn lab
Depositing User: Matt Covey
Date: 14 August 2013
Date Deposited: 17 Sep 2013 19:49
Last Modified: 17 Sep 2013 19:49
PMCID: PMC3742930
Related URLs:
URI: https://repository.cshl.edu/id/eprint/28613

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