Cited by 159Treatment of Major DepressionNeuroscience and Neuropharmacology ResearchNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior

Enhancement of dorsal hippocampal activity by knockdown of HCN1 channels leads to anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like behaviors

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Kim, Chung Sub, Chang, Payne Y., Johnston, Daniel·2012·Neuron

Abstract

The hippocampus is an integral brain region for affective disorders. TRIP8b knockout mice lacking functional HCN channels as well as both HCN1 and HCN2 knockout mice have been shown to display antidepressant-like behaviors. The mechanisms or brain regions involved in these alterations in behavior, however, are not clear. We developed a lentiviral shRNA system to examine whether knockdown of HCN1 protein in the dorsal hippocampal CA1 region is sufficient to produce antidepressant-like effects. We found that knockdown of HCN1 channels increased cellular excitability and resulted in physiological changes consistent with a reduction of I(h). Rats infused with lentiviral shRNA-HCN1 in the dorsal hippocampal CA1 region displayed antidepressant- and anxiolytic-like behaviors associated with widespread enhancement of hippocampal activity and upregulation of BDNF-mTOR signaling pathways. Our results suggest that HCN1 protein could be a potential target for treatment of anxiety and depression disorders.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.neuron.2012.05.027

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  • HCN1 upregulation in lateral habenula drives anxiety during morphine withdrawal, and its inhibition or knockdown reduces this burden.

    “HCN1 upregulation in lateral habenula drives anxiety during morphine withdrawal, and its inhibition or knockdown reduces this burden [289].”

    From Synaptic Plasticity—Intrinsic Excitability and Antidepressant Discovery (2026) · cites this paper as [289]

    The Results section ('Knockdown of HCN1 in dorsal hippocampus exerted anxiolytic-like effects'; page unavailable) reports less anxiety-like behavior after HCN1 knockdown in rats. It studies the dorsal hippocampal CA1 region, not the lateral habenula, and does not report HCN1 upregulation or morphine withdrawal. Those setting and causal details are unsupported. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Chronic stress elevates HCN1 and Ih in dorsal CA1, reducing excitability and producing depressive behaviors.

    “chronic stress elevates HCN1 and Ih in dorsal Cornu Ammonis area 1 (CA1), reducing excitability and producing depressive behaviors”

    From Synaptic Plasticity—Intrinsic Excitability and Antidepressant Discovery (2026) · cites this paper as [289]

    The Introduction and Discussion report that knocking down HCN1 in dorsal CA1 reduced Ih-related activity, increased neuronal excitability, and produced antidepressant-like behavior in rats. They do not report that chronic stress elevates HCN1 or Ih in dorsal CA1, or establish that this pathway causes stress-induced depressive behavior. The Results instead mention increased ventral CA1 activity in an animal model of chronic mild stress; page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.85)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Lowering HCN surface expression via cAMP signaling or direct HCN1 inhibition rescues stress-related cognitive deficits and post-stroke affective slowing.

    “lowering HCN surface expression via cAMP signaling or direct HCN1 inhibition rescues stress-related cognitive deficits and post-stroke affective slowing [289,292,293]”

    From Synaptic Plasticity—Intrinsic Excitability and Antidepressant Discovery (2026) · cites this paper as [289]

    The Discussion reports that HCN1 knockdown in the dorsal hippocampal CA1 region produced anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects in rats. It does not report rescue of stress-related cognitive deficits or post-stroke affective slowing, nor does it show that cAMP signaling lowered HCN surface expression. (LLM, conf=0.85)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Authors
Kim, C. S., Chang, P. Y., & Johnston, D.
Affiliations
The University of Texas at Austin (US)
Corresponding author
Johnston, Daniel
Venue
Neuron
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2012-08
Volume
75
Issue
3
Pages
503-516
ISSN
0896-6273 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2012579750
Cited by
158
References
68
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 22 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 1
FWCI
6.59
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Neuron (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
National Institutes of Health (MH48432)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Treatment of Major Depression
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
Keywords
HCN1 channels, dorsal hippocampus, CA1 region, shRNA knockdown, hyperpolarization-activated current, cell excitability, antidepressant-like behavior, anxiolytic-like behavior, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, mTOR signaling, anxiety disorders, depression, TRIP8b
MeSH terms
Animals, Anxiety, Behavior, Animal, Depression, Hippocampus, Immunohistochemistry, Male, Blotting, Western, Potassium Channels, Rats, Sprague-Dawley, Patch-Clamp Techniques, RNA, Small Interfering, Rats, Cyclic Nucleotide-Gated Cation Channels, Gene Knockdown Techniques, Hyperpolarization-Activated Cyclic Nucleotide-Gated Channels

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