In humans and nonhuman primates, anxious temperament (AT) is a trait-like phenotype that is evident early in life and characterized by increased behavioral and physiological reactivity to mildly threatening stimuli. In children AT is key risk factor for the later development of anxiety disorders, depression and comorbid substance abuse. Our prior work provides initial validation for an anxious endophenotype in young primates. Monkeys with higher levels of AT are similar to behaviorally inhibited children;both show excess freezing, reduced affiliative vocalizations, and elevated cortisol in the face of mild threat. Because of similarities in brain structure and social behavior, the rhesus monkey represents the ideal animal model for understanding the biological underpinnings of AT. In terms of brain mechanisms, indirect evidence implicates increased central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) activity and corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) system activity as factors underlying the risk to develop anxiety and depressive disorders. Additionally, recent evidence implicates decreased neuroplasticity in the pathogenesis of these disorders. Relevant to this, we have amassed evidence that activity of the neurotrophin 3 (NTF3)/neurotrophic tyrosine kinase receptor type 3 (NTRK3) neuroplasticity system in the CeA is inversely related to individual differences in AT.
The aim of the proposed work is to perform studies in young rhesus monkeys to test the neurodevelopmental consequences of manipulations that increase or decrease risk for developing anxiety and depressive disorders. Accordingly, to increase vulnerability we will use a viral vector to chronically increase CRH expression in CeA. To decrease vulnerability, we will use a similar vector to chronically increase expression of NTF3 in CeA. This work will test the hypothesis that chronic overactivity of these systems will fundamentally alter the developmental trajectory of the neural circuit underlying AT. Monkeys will receive vectors at 2 years of age and will be longitudinally studied across the transition to adolescence until 4.5 years of age by repeatedly assessing in vivo imaging measures of brain structure and function, anxiety-related behaviors, pituitary-adrenal activity, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) CRH and NTF3 measures. The use of nonhuman primates, paired with advanced brain imaging measures, provides a unique opportunity to better understand prefrontal-amygdala interactions. Additional emphasis will be focused on hippocampal volumetric and morphometric measures and influences on the serotonin system indexed by serotonin 1A (5HT1A) binding, measured with in vivo positron emission tomography (PET) of dorsal raphe and hippocampus. Following 2 years of CRH or NTF3 overexpression, monkeys will be sacrificed to assess molecular markers of neuroplasticity, serotonin function, and hippocampal neurogenesis. Elucidating the mechanisms that underlie the regulation of chronic anxiety in primates promises to provide crucial insights into the mechanisms underlying the pathophysiology of human anxiety and depressive disorders.

Public Health Relevance

Childhood anxiety and depression are common and frequently are the forerunners of adult affective and anxiety disorders. The proposed experiments will identify the roles of stress- related and neuroplasticity-related systems within the amygdala as developmental mechanisms that may increase or decrease, respectively, the childhood risk to develop anxiety and depression. The studies will use state of the art molecular methods in a well established nonhuman primate model to provide new insights into brain mechanisms mediating the susceptiblity to develop these psychiatric disorders.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
2R01MH046729-18A1
Application #
8369461
Study Section
Pathophysiological Basis of Mental Disorders and Addictions Study Section (PMDA)
Program Officer
Simmons, Janine M
Project Start
1990-07-01
Project End
2017-06-30
Budget Start
2012-07-01
Budget End
2013-06-30
Support Year
18
Fiscal Year
2012
Total Cost
$640,891
Indirect Cost
$215,050
Name
University of Wisconsin Madison
Department
Psychiatry
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
161202122
City
Madison
State
WI
Country
United States
Zip Code
53715
Fox, Andrew S; Oler, Jonathan A; Birn, Rasmus M et al. (2018) Functional Connectivity within the Primate Extended Amygdala Is Heritable and Associated with Early-Life Anxious Temperament. J Neurosci 38:7611-7621
Zhao, Gengyan; Liu, Fang; Oler, Jonathan A et al. (2018) Bayesian convolutional neural network based MRI brain extraction on nonhuman primates. Neuroimage 175:32-44
Kalin, Ned H (2018) Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone Binding Protein: Stress, Psychopathology, and Antidepressant Treatment Response. Am J Psychiatry 175:204-206
Alisch, Reid S; Van Hulle, Carol; Chopra, Pankaj et al. (2017) A multi-dimensional characterization of anxiety in monozygotic twin pairs reveals susceptibility loci in humans. Transl Psychiatry 7:1282
Shackman, A J; Fox, A S; Oler, J A et al. (2017) Heightened extended amygdala metabolism following threat characterizes the early phenotypic risk to develop anxiety-related psychopathology. Mol Psychiatry 22:724-732
Oler, Jonathan A; Tromp, Do P M; Fox, Andrew S et al. (2017) Connectivity between the central nucleus of the amygdala and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis in the non-human primate: neuronal tract tracing and developmental neuroimaging studies. Brain Struct Funct 222:21-39
Kalin, Ned H (2017) Mechanisms underlying the early risk to develop anxiety and depression: A translational approach. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 27:543-553
Kalin, Ned H; Fox, Andrew S; Kovner, Rothem et al. (2016) Overexpressing Corticotropin-Releasing Factor in the Primate Amygdala Increases Anxious Temperament and Alters Its Neural Circuit. Biol Psychiatry 80:345-55
Fox, Andrew S; Oler, Jonathan A; Shackman, Alexander J et al. (2015) Intergenerational neural mediators of early-life anxious temperament. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 112:9118-22
Cavanagh, James F; Shackman, Alexander J (2015) Frontal midline theta reflects anxiety and cognitive control: meta-analytic evidence. J Physiol Paris 109:3-15

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