Cited by 368Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on BehaviorStress Responses and CortisolTreatment of Major Depression

Anhedonia requires MC4R-mediated synaptic adaptations in nucleus accumbens

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Lim, Byung Kook, Huang, Kee Wui, Grueter, Brad A., Rothwell, Patrick E., Malenka, Robert C.·2012·Nature

Abstract

Chronic stress is a strong diathesis for depression in humans and is used to generate animal models of depression. It commonly leads to several major symptoms of depression, including dysregulated feeding behaviour, anhedonia and behavioural despair. Although hypotheses defining the neural pathophysiology of depression have been proposed, the critical synaptic adaptations in key brain circuits that mediate stress-induced depressive symptoms remain poorly understood. Here we show that chronic stress in mice decreases the strength of excitatory synapses on D1 dopamine receptor-expressing nucleus accumbens medium spiny neurons owing to activation of the melanocortin 4 receptor. Stress-elicited increases in behavioural measurements of anhedonia, but not increases in measurements of behavioural despair, are prevented by blocking these melanocortin 4 receptor-mediated synaptic changes in vivo. These results establish that stress-elicited anhedonia requires a neuropeptide-triggered, cell-type-specific synaptic adaptation in the nucleus accumbens and that distinct circuit adaptations mediate other major symptoms of stress-elicited depression.

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  • Chronic stress reduces evoked AMPA receptor-mediated excitatory synaptic currents in D1, but not D2, medium spiny neurons, including responses to hippocampal afferents.

    “Similarly, evoked AMPA receptor-mediated excitatory synaptic currents are reduced by chronic stress in D1, but not D2, MSNs [236], including in response to afferents from the hippocampus [193].”
  • Preventing stress-induced AMPA receptor loss in D1 medium spiny neurons prevents stress-induced loss of hedonic responses in sucrose preference and cocaine-induced place preference, but not in the forced swim test.

    “Lim et al. [236] demonstrated that preventing stress-induced AMPA receptor loss in D1 MSNs was sufficient to prevent stress-induced loss of hedonic responses in sucrose preference and cocaine-induced place preference (although not the FST).”
  • Repeated restraint stress promotes long-term depression in D1 medium spiny neurons but not D2 medium spiny neurons of the nucleus accumbens core.

    “Lim et al. found excitatory synaptic transmission following repeated restraint stress promoted long-term depression in D1-MSNs, but not D2-MSNs of the NAc core, suggesting a D1-MSN specific change in excitatory transmission mediates anhedonic outcomes (36).”
  • A D1 medium spiny neuron-specific change in excitatory transmission mediates anhedonic outcomes.

    “Lim et al. found excitatory synaptic transmission following repeated restraint stress promoted long-term depression in D1-MSNs, but not D2-MSNs of the NAc core, suggesting a D1-MSN specific change in excitatory transmission mediates anhedonic outcomes (36).”

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1 of the 48 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. [46]Wickersham IR Finke S Conzelmann KK Callaway EM Retrograde neuronal tracing with a deletion-mutant rabies virus Nat. Methods 2007 4 47 49 17179932 PMC2755236
  2. [49]Cunningham CL Gremel CM Groblewski PA Drug-induced conditioned place preference and aversion in mice Nat. Protoc 2006 1 1662 1670 17487149
  3. [50]Grueter BA Brasnjo G Malenka RC Postsynaptic TRPV1 triggers cell type-specific long-term depression in the nucleus accumbens Nat. Neurosci 2010 13 1519 1525 21076424 PMC3092590

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Authors
Lim, B. K., Huang, K. W., Grueter, B. A., Rothwell, P. E., & Malenka, R. C.
Affiliations
Stanford Medicine (US)
Corresponding author
Malenka, Robert C.
Venue
Nature
Published
2012-07
Volume
487
Issue
7406
Pages
183-189
ISSN
  • 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-4687
OpenAlex
W2022082745
Cited by
368
References
48
Citations by year
2026: 11 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 24 · 2021: 37 · 2020: 25 · 2019: 30 · 2018: 29 · 2017: 30 · 2016: 20 · 2015: 40 · 2014: 22 · 2013: 24 · 2012: 4
FWCI
11.86
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute of Mental Health (F32MH096491)
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse (P01DA008227)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Treatment of Major Depression
Keywords
anhedonia, chronic stress, depression, melanocortin-4 receptor, nucleus accumbens, medium spiny neurons, dopamine D1 receptor, excitatory synapses, synaptic plasticity, behavioural despair, feeding behaviour, cocaine reward, neuropeptides
MeSH terms
alpha-MSH, Animals, Behavior, Animal, Cocaine, Depression, Feeding Behavior, Nucleus Accumbens, Stress, Psychological, Signal Transduction, Weight Loss, Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors, Receptor, Melanocortin, Type 4, Mice, Electrical Synapses, Gene Knockdown Techniques, Anhedonia

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