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. 2013 Aug;12(4):547-56.
doi: 10.1007/s12311-013-0462-2.

Reorganization of circuits underlying cerebellar modulation of prefrontal cortical dopamine in mouse models of autism spectrum disorder

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Reorganization of circuits underlying cerebellar modulation of prefrontal cortical dopamine in mouse models of autism spectrum disorder

Tiffany D Rogers et al. Cerebellum. 2013 Aug.

Abstract

Imaging, clinical, and pre-clinical studies have provided ample evidence for a cerebellar involvement in cognitive brain function including cognitive brain disorders, such as autism and schizophrenia. We previously reported that cerebellar activity modulates dopamine release in the mouse medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) via two distinct pathways: (1) cerebellum to mPFC via dopaminergic projections from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and (2) cerebellum to mPFC via glutamatergic projections from the mediodorsal and ventrolateral thalamus (ThN md and vl). The present study compared functional adaptations of cerebello-cortical circuitry following developmental cerebellar pathology in a mouse model of developmental loss of Purkinje cells (Lurcher) and a mouse model of fragile X syndrome (Fmr1 KO mice). Fixed potential amperometry was used to measure mPFC dopamine release in response to cerebellar electrical stimulation. Mutant mice of both strains showed an attenuation in cerebellar-evoked mPFC dopamine release compared to respective wildtype mice. This was accompanied by a functional reorganization of the VTA and thalamic pathways mediating cerebellar modulation of mPFC dopamine release. Inactivation of the VTA pathway by intra-VTA lidocaine or kynurenate infusions decreased dopamine release by 50 % in wildtype and 20-30 % in mutant mice of both strains. Intra-ThN vl infusions of either drug decreased dopamine release by 15 % in wildtype and 40 % in mutant mice of both strains, while dopamine release remained relatively unchanged following intra-ThN md drug infusions. These results indicate a shift in strength towards the thalamic vl projection, away from the VTA. Thus, cerebellar neuropathologies associated with autism spectrum disorders may cause a reduction in cerebellar modulation of mPFC dopamine release that is related to a reorganization of the mediating neuronal pathways.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Statement: There is no conflict of interest, financial or otherwise, that might bias this work.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Representative coronal sections in Lurcher and Fmr1 wildtype and mutant mice illustrating placements (gray shaded areas) of (A) stimulating electrodes in the dentate nucleus (DN), (B) dopamine recording electrodes in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), (C) infusion cannulae in mediodorsal thalamus (ThN md) and ventrolateral thalamus (ThN vl), and (D) infusion cannulae in the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Numbers correspond to mm from bregma. Placements of stimulating and recording electrodes, and cannula placements overlapped in all groups. Sections were adapted from the mouse atlas of [37].
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Individual examples of changes in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) dopamine oxidation current (corresponding to changes in extracellular dopamine concentrations) in Lurcher and Fmr1 wildtype and mutant mice evoked by electrical stimulation of the cerebellar dentate nucleus (black bar, 100 pulses at 50 Hz) just prior to drug infusion. Mutant mice of both strains consistently showed a marked attenuation in the mPFC dopamine response.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Average percent decrease in dentate nucleus (DN) stimulation-evoked dopamine responses following kynurenate infusion into the ventral tegmental area (VTA), mediodorsal thalamus (ThN md), or the ventrolateral thalamus (ThN vl), as well as the summed average percent decrease of each drug infused across sites. In Lurcher and Fmr1 wildtype mice infusions of kynurenate into the VTA reduced dopamine responses by ∼50%, while kynurenate infusions into the thalamus (md and vl combined) also reduced the dopamine response by a total of ∼50% (md = ∼35% and vl = ∼15%). In contrast, the reduction in the dopamine response following kynurenate into the VTA in Lurcher mutant (∼30%) and Fmr1 mutant (∼20%) mice was significantly less, indicating a reduction in the modulatory strength of this pathway. This reduction in strength in mutant mice was coupled to an increase in signal strength of the pathway through the thalamus, specifically the ThN vl. Thus, kynurenate infused into this nucleus reduced dopamine responses by ∼15 % in wildtype mice of both strains and ∼40% in mutant mice of both strains. Regardless of strain or genotype kynurenate infused into the ThN md reduced the dopamine signal between 30 to 40%. The inset figure shows the two independent pathways by which cerebellar output through the DN modulates dopamine release in the mPFC. See text for additional description.

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