Browsing by Author "Huang, Donald"

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    Contrasting Effects of Adolescent and Early-Adult Ethanol Exposure on Prelimbic Cortical Pyramidal Neurons
    (Elsevier, 2020) Galaj, Ewa; Guo, Changyong; Huang, Donald; Ranaldi, Robert; Ma, Yao-Ying; Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Medicine
    Background: Adolescence and early-adulthood are vulnerable developmental periods during which binge drinking can have long-lasting effects on brain function. However, little is known about the effects of binge drinking on the pyramidal cells of the prelimbic cortex (PrL) during early and protracted withdrawal periods. Methods: In the present study, we performed whole-cell patch clamp recordings and dendritic spine staining to examine the intrinsic excitability, spontaneous excitatory post-synaptic currents (sEPSCs), and spine morphology of pyramidal cells in the PrL from rats exposed to chronic intermittent ethanol (CIE) during adolescence or early-adulthood. Results: Compared to chronic intermittent water (CIW)-treated controls, the excitability of PrL-L5 pyramidal neurons was significantly increased 21 days after adolescent CIE but decreased 21 days after early-adult CIE. No changes of excitability in PrL Layer (L) 5 were detected 2 days after either adolescent or early-adulthood CIE. Interestingly, decreases in sEPSC amplitude and increases in thin spines ratio were detected 2 days after adolescent CIE. Furthermore, decreased frequency and amplitude of sEPSCs, accompanied by a decrease in the density of total spines and non-thin spines were observed 21 days after adolescent CIE. In contrast, increased frequency and amplitude of sEPSCs, accompanied by increased densities of total spines and non-thin spines were found 21 days after early adult CIE. Conclusion: CIE produced prolonged neuronal and synaptic alterations in PrL-L5, and the developmental stage, i.e., adolescence vs. early-adulthood when subjects receive CIE, is a key factor in determining the direction of these changes.
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    Increased Excitability of Pyramidal Neurons in the Secondary Motor Cortex Enhances Cocaine-Seeking
    (2023-09) Huang, Donald; Atwood, Brady K.; Baucum, AJ; Hopf, Woody; Ma, Yao-Ying; Sheets, Patrick L.
    Cocaine addiction is a brain disorder characterized by chronic relapse. Although drug-seeking behaviors have been recognized to be associated with relapse, the role of the motor cortex, including the primary (M1) and secondary (M2) motor cortex, which are functionally important mediators of complex behaviors remains unclear in addiction. Here we use a rat cocaine intravenous self-administration (IVSA) model to investigate the intrinsic excitability of pyramidal neurons in the medial prefrontal cortices and motor cortices during withdrawal. Cocaine IVSA-trained rats performed a cocaine-seeking test on withdrawal day (WD) 1 or WD 45. Relative to WD 1 an increase in cocaineseeking was detected on WD 45. Whole-cell patch clamp recordings revealed an increase in intrinsic excitability in pyramidal neurons in Layer 2 of the secondary motor cortex (M2-L2) in cocaine trained rats on WD 45. Using a pharmacological approach, bath application of GABAA receptor agonist, muscimol, dosedependently (0.1 mM, 0.3 mM, and 1.0 mM) decreased the excitability of M2-L2 pyramidal neurons in cocaine IVSA-trained rats on WD 45. Pharmacological inactivation of M2-L2 by bilateral intra-M2 injection of muscimol (324 ng/1.0 μl) attenuated cocaine-seeking on WD 45. A chemogenetic approach was used to validate that M2-L2 pyramidal neurons play a contributing role in the increase in cocaine-seeking, a microinjection of rAAV5-CaMKIIa-hM4di-mCherry was performed to express Gi-DREADD receptors on M2-L2 pyramidal neurons. Activating Gi-DREADD with an intraperitoneal injection of compound 21 on WD 45 attenuated cocaine-seeking. To elucidate the mechanism that contributes to the increased excitability of M2-L2 pyramidal neurons, an analysis of the action potential kinetics revealed that calcium-activated small conductance potassium (SK) channel-mediated medium afterhyperpolarization amplitude decreased in cocaine vs. saline IVSA-trained rats on WD 45. SK channel activation by 1-EBIO (300 μm) increased the medium afterhyperpolarization amplitude and decreased the excitability of M2-L2 pyramidal neurons in cocaine IVSA-trained rats. Furthermore, intra-M2 injection of 1-EBIO on WD 45 attenuated cocaine-seeking. These experiments suggest that cocaine IVSA-training-induced persistent changes in M2-L2 pyramidal neurons' intrinsic excitability contributes to enhanced cocaine-seeking. Our results provide evidence targeting the SK channels in the superficial layer for M2 could be an important therapeutic approach for preventing cocaine relapse.
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    Limited versus extended cocaine intravenous self‐administration: Behavioral effects and electrophysiological changes in insular cortex
    (Wiley, 2021-02) Luo, Yi-Xiao; Huang, Donald; Guo, Changyong; Ma, Yao-Ying; Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Medicine
    Aims: Limited vs extended drug exposure has been proposed as one of the key factors in determining the risk of relapse, which is the primary characteristic of addiction behaviors. The current studies were designed to explore the related behavioral effects and neuronal alterations in the insular cortex (IC), an important brain region involved in addiction. Methods: Experiments started with rats at the age of 35 days, a typical adolescent stage when initial drug exposure occurs often in humans. The drug-seeking/taking behaviors, and membrane properties and intrinsic excitability of IC pyramidal neurons were measured on withdrawal day (WD) 1 and WD 45-48 after limited vs extended cocaine intravenous self-administration (IVSA). Results: We found higher cocaine-taking behaviors at the late withdrawal period after limited vs extended cocaine IVSA. We also found minor but significant effects of limited but not extended cocaine exposure on the kinetics and amplitude of action potentials on WD 45, in IC pyramidal neurons. Conclusion: Our results indicate potential high risks of relapse in young rats with limited but not extended drug exposure, although the adaptations detected in the IC may not be sufficient to explain the neural changes of higher drug-taking behaviors induced by limited cocaine IVSA.
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    Prenatal Alcohol Exposure Reduces Posterior Dorsomedial Striatum Excitability and Motivation in a Sex- and Age-Dependent Fashion
    (Elsevier, 2020-12) Roselli, Victoria; Guo, Changyong; Huang, Donald; Wen, Di; Zona, Daniel; Liang, Tiebing; Ma, Yao-Ying; Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Medicine
    Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE)-induced clinical symptoms have been widely reported but effective treatments are not yet available due to our limited knowledge of the neuronal mechanisms underlying behavioral outputs. Operant behaviors, including both goal-directed and habitual actions, are essential for everyday life. The dorsomedial striatum (DMS) and the dorsolateral striatum (DLS) have been identified as mediating each type of instrumental behavior, respectively. The current studies were designed to evaluate the effects of PAE (i.e., 3 g/kg, twice a day on gestational days 17-20) on goal-directed vs. habitual behaviors in both females and males during their adolescent and adult stages. We found that PAE-treated adult, but not adolescent, males display similar habitual oral sucrose self-administration but reduced goal-directed sucrose self-administration, compared to those treated by prenatal control (water) exposure (PCE). There were no differences in either habitual or goal-directed sucrose taking between PCE- vs. PAE-treated adolescent and adult females. These results indicate sex- and age-specific effects of PAE on operant behaviors. Further, whole-cell patch clamp recordings showed that the excitability of medium-sized spiny neurons (MSNs) in the posterior DMS (pDMS), but not the anterior DMS (aDMS), was significantly decreased in PAE-treated adult male rats. Notably, chemogenetic enhancement of MSN excitability in the pDMS by the DREADD agonist, compound 21, rescued the motivation of PAE-treated male adult rats. These data suggest that the pDMS may be a key neuronal substrate mediating the PAE-induced low motivation in male adults.