Involvement of the medial prefrontal cortex in stress vulnerability induced by early life stress

• Project/Area Number: 15K20846
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Experimental psychology; Psychiatric science
• Research Institution: Hirosaki University
• Principal Investigator: Nikaido Yoshikazu 弘前大学, 医学研究科, 助教 (50613478)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2017)
• Budget Amount: ¥4,030,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥930,000); Fiscal Year 2017: ¥1,170,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥270,000); Fiscal Year 2016: ¥1,040,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥240,000); Fiscal Year 2015: ¥1,820,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥420,000)
• Keywords: 幼少期ストレス / ストレス脆弱性 / 内側前頭前野 / 大脳半球間抑制 / 大脳半球間連絡

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this study, we investigated the involvement of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) activity in stress vulnerability in mice subjected to maternal separation stress. Mice subjected to postnatal maternal separation stress showed increases in open-field anxiety and social-anxiety after maturation. The optogenetic activation of neurons in the left mPFC which projected to the right mPFC reduced open-field anxiety but increased social anxiety. These results suggest that the mPFC is influenced by postnatal maternal separation stress and that the interaction between the left and right mPFC might be differently involved in modulation of anxiety induced by novel environment and social environment.

Research Products

• [Presentation] ストレスによる精神疾患の発症とその治療に関わる内側前頭前野機能の解析 (2017)
  • Author(s): 二階堂義和
  • Organizer: 第3回脳研・高度先進・COIセミナー
  • Place of Presentation: 弘前大学(弘前市)
  • Year and Date: 2017-01-16
  • Invited
• [Presentation] 慢性社会的敗北ストレスによってうつ病様モデル化したラットは前頭前野の機能異常を起こす (2017)
  • Author(s): 二階堂義和, 古川智範, 下山修司, 櫛方哲也, 廣田和美, 上野伸哉
  • Organizer: 第４４回日本脳科学会
• [Presentation] うつ病モデルラットは内側前頭前野機能異常を起こす (2016)
  • Author(s): 二階堂義和、古川智範、下山修司、古賀浩平、上野伸哉
  • Organizer: 第100回弘前医学会総会
  • Place of Presentation: 弘前大学(弘前市)
  • Year and Date: 2016-06-19
• [Presentation] Social defeat stress induces a cognitive deficit in 5-choice serial reaction time task in rats (2016)
  • Author(s): Yoshikazu Nikaido, Tomonori Furukawa, Kohei Koga, and Shinya Ueno
  • Organizer: 第93回日本生理学会大会
  • Place of Presentation: 札幌コンベンションセンター(北海道・札幌市)
  • Year and Date: 2016-03-24
• [Presentation] Asymmetrical activity in rat anterior cingulate cortex in fear expression and extinction (2016)
  • Author(s): Tomonori Furukawa, Yoshikazu Nikaido, Keisuke Migita, Shuji Shimoyama, Taku Ozaki, Kohei Koga, and Shinya Ueno
  • Organizer: 第93回日本生理学会大会
  • Place of Presentation: 同上
  • Year and Date: 2016-03-23