The impact of limited sucrose intake on perineuronal nets of parvalbumin interneurons in the basolateral amygdala: A potential role in stress resilience.

Natural rewards like regular sucrose consumption can buffer physiological and behavioral stress responses, likely mediated, at least in part, by increased plasticity in parvalbumin-positive (PV+) interneurons in the basolateral amygdala (BLA). As PV+ interneuron plasticity is tightly regulated by specialized extracellular matrix structures called perineuronal nets (PNNs), this study investigated the impact of regular sucrose consumption vs. repetitive stress on the PNNs that surround PV+ interneurons in the BLA, as well as the number of glutamatergic (vGLUT1) and GABAergic (vGAT) appositions that PV+ cells receive.

Developmental functions of microglia: Impact of psychosocial and physiological early life stress.

Microglia play numerous important roles in brain development. From early embryonic stages through adolescence, these immune cells influence neuronal genesis and maturation, guide connectivity, and shape brain circuits. They also interact with other glial cells and structures, influencing the brain's supportive microenvironment.

Inhibition of prefrontal cortex parvalbumin interneurons mitigates behavioral and physiological sequelae of chronic stress in male mice.

Chronic stress leads to hypofunction of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), mechanisms of which remain to be determined. Enhanced activation of GABAergic of parvalbumin (PV) expressing interneurons (INs) is thought to play a role in stress-induced prefrontal inhibition. In this study, we tested whether chemogenetic inhibition of mPFC PV INs after chronic stress can rescue chronic stress-related behavioral and physiological phenotypes.

Molecular neurobiology of loss: a role for basolateral amygdala extracellular matrix.

Psychological loss is a common experience that erodes well-being and negatively impacts quality of life. The molecular underpinnings of loss are poorly understood. Here, we investigate the mechanisms of loss using an environmental enrichment removal (ER) paradigm in male rats.