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Reduction in vasopressin cells in the suprachiasmatic nucleus in mice increases anxiety and alters fluid intake.

ABSTRACT: Central vasopressin (AVP) has been implicated in the control of multiple behaviors, including social behavior, anxiety-like behavior, and sickness behavior. The extent to which the different AVP-producing cell groups contribute to regulating these behaviors has not been extensively investigated. Here we test the role of AVP cells in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in these behaviors by ablating these cells using viral-mediated, Cre-dependent caspase in male and female AVP-Cre + mice and Cre-controls. We compared anxiety and social behaviors, as well as sickness behaviors (lethargy, anhedonia (indexed by sucrose consumption), and changes in anxiety-like- and social behavior) induced via injection of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). We found that SCN AVP cell ablation increased anxiety-like behavior and sucrose consumption in both sexes, as well as increased urine marking by males in a non-social context, but did not alter behavioral responses to sickness. Our data suggest that SCN AVP does not strongly affect LPS-induced behavioral changes, but may contribute to anxiety-like behavior, and may play a role in ingestive reward/motivation and fluid intake.

SUBMITTER: Whylings J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8529700 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Reduction in vasopressin cells in the suprachiasmatic nucleus in mice increases anxiety and alters fluid intake.

Whylings Jack J Rigney Nicole N de Vries Geert J GJ Petrulis Aras A

Hormones and behavior 20210529

Central vasopressin (AVP) has been implicated in the control of multiple behaviors, including social behavior, anxiety-like behavior, and sickness behavior. The extent to which the different AVP-producing cell groups contribute to regulating these behaviors has not been extensively investigated. Here we test the role of AVP cells in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in these behaviors by ablating these cells using viral-mediated, Cre-dependent caspase in male and female AVP-Cre + mice and Cre-co ...[more]

PMID: 34062279

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Project description:Individuals suffering from mood and anxiety disorders often show significant disturbances in sleep and circadian rhythms. Animal studies indicate that circadian rhythm disruption can cause increased depressive- and anxiety-like behavior, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. One potential mechanism to explain how circadian rhythms are contributing to mood and anxiety disorders is through dysregulation of the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus, known as the "central pacemaker." To investigate the role of the SCN in regulating depressive- and anxiety-like behavior in mice, we chronically manipulated the neural activity of the SCN using two optogenetic stimulation paradigms. As expected, chronic stimulation of the SCN late in the active phase (circadian time 21, CT21) resulted in a shortened period and dampened amplitude of homecage activity rhythms. We also repeatedly stimulated the SCN at unpredictable times during the active phase of mice when SCN firing rates are normally low. This resulted in dampened, fragmented, and unstable homecage activity rhythms. In both chronic SCN optogenetic stimulation paradigms, dampened homecage activity rhythms (decreased amplitude) were directly correlated with increased measures of anxiety-like behavior. In contrast, we only observed a correlation between behavioral despair and homecage activity amplitude in mice stimulated at CT21. Surprisingly, the change in period of homecage activity rhythms was not directly associated with anxiety- or depressive-like behavior. Finally, to determine if anxiety-like behavior is affected during a single SCN stimulation session, we acutely stimulated the SCN in the active phase (zeitgeber time 14-16, ZT14-16) during behavioral testing. Unexpectedly this also resulted in increased anxiety-like behavior. Taken together, these results indicate that SCN-mediated dampening of rhythms is directly correlated with increased anxiety-like behavior. This work is an important step in understanding how specific SCN neural activity disruptions affect depressive- and anxiety-related behavior.

Dataset Information

Reduction in vasopressin cells in the suprachiasmatic nucleus in mice increases anxiety and alters fluid intake.

Publications

Reduction in vasopressin cells in the suprachiasmatic nucleus in mice increases anxiety and alters fluid intake.

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