Increased intrinsic and synaptic excitability of hypothalamic POMC neurons underlies chronic stress-induced behavioral deficits.

ABSTRACT: Chronic stress exposure induces maladaptive behavioral responses and increases susceptibility to neuropsychiatric conditions. However, specific neuronal populations and circuits that are highly sensitive to stress and trigger maladaptive behavioral responses remain to be identified. Here we investigate the patterns of spontaneous activity of proopiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons in the arcuate nucleus (ARC) of the hypothalamus following exposure to chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) for 10 days, a stress paradigm used to induce behavioral deficits such as anhedonia and behavioral despair [1, 2]. CUS exposure increased spontaneous firing of POMC neurons in both male and female mice, attributable to reduced GABA-mediated synaptic inhibition and increased intrinsic neuronal excitability. While a

SUBMITTER: Fang X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10005948 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature