Identification of means to prevent stress-related psychiatric disorders such as depression &anxiety is of primary importance. One manipulation with established stress resilient effects is exercise. We have observed that rats allowed access to running wheels are protected against the depression- &anxiety-like consequences of uncontrollable stress, or learned helplessness (LH). Growing evidence indicates that LH behaviors are produced by hyperactivation &sensitization of serotonin (5-HT) neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN). Hyperactivation of DRN 5-HT neurons during stress could lead to later sensitization of these neurons by desensitizing 5-HT1A inhibitory autoreceptors in the DRN. Results from our prior work &preliminary studies suggest that wheel running prevents LH by constraining the activity of DRN 5-HT neurons during stressor exposure &preventing the desensitization of 5-HT1A autoreceptors. Constraint over 5-HT neural activity could be an adaptive feature of the stress response that is dysregulated in stress-related psychiatric disorders but facilitated by prior voluntary exercise. Understanding how the experience of exercise is communicated to the DRN to result in stress resilience is a primary goal of this project that has clear clinical implications for the prevention of stress-related disorders. Exercise is a unique behavioral manipulation that will likely recruit neurocircuits that together result in unique adaptations in the brain. To facilitate identification of these neurocircuits, we propose an innovative approach of controllable / yoked uncontrollable wheel running. Although voluntary wheel running is associated with stress resilience, forced exercise often fails to produce stress protective effects despite considerable fitness benefits. These data suggest that activity or fitness per se is not sufficient to produce stress resilience. Instead, exercise plus the psychological variable of """"""""perceived control"""""""" may be critical. This is an important distinction because it implies involvement of distinct neural substrates involved in the perception of control (such as the medial prefrontal cortex;mPFC), vs. those simply recruited by physical activity per se (such as the noradrenergic system), in the stress resilience produced by exercise. Indeed, we have observed that voluntary exercise recruits both of these systems;repeated activation of which could contribute to the increase in DRN 5- HT1A autoreceptors by inhibiting the activity of the 5-HT1A gene repressor Freud-1. The current project tests the hypotheses that 1) wheel running prevents LH by preventing DRN 5-HT1A autoreceptor desensitization &/or increasing mPFC-inhibition of the DRN during stress, 2) the effects of wheel running on behavior &5-HT1A autoreceptors are dependent on exercise controllability, &3) repeated activation of the mPFC &/or DRN 11- ADRs contribute to the increase in 5-HT1A autoreceptors &the protective effect of wheel running against LH.

Public Health Relevance

The goal of the current proposal is to identify how the experience of exercise is communicated to the central serotonergic system to result in resilience against stress- induced anxiety, focusing specifically on central circuits converging on the 5-HT1A autoreceptor. The results of this work will improve our basic understanding of the effects of stressor exposure and exercise on serotonin systems, and could lead to novel approaches for the prevention or treatment of stress-related psychiatric disorders.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01MH068283-07
Application #
8098911
Study Section
Neurobiology of Motivated Behavior Study Section (NMB)
Program Officer
Vicentic, Aleksandra
Project Start
2003-06-01
Project End
2015-01-31
Budget Start
2011-04-01
Budget End
2012-01-31
Support Year
7
Fiscal Year
2011
Total Cost
$333,363
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Colorado at Boulder
Department
Physiology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
007431505
City
Boulder
State
CO
Country
United States
Zip Code
80309
Lloyd, Brian A; Hake, Holly S; Ishiwata, Takayuki et al. (2017) Exercise increases mTOR signaling in brain regions involved in cognition and emotional behavior. Behav Brain Res 323:56-67
Mika, Agnieszka; Fleshner, Monika (2016) Early-life exercise may promote lasting brain and metabolic health through gut bacterial metabolites. Immunol Cell Biol 94:151-7
Herrera, Jonathan J; Fedynska, Sofiya; Ghasem, Parsa R et al. (2016) Neurochemical and behavioural indices of exercise reward are independent of exercise controllability. Eur J Neurosci 43:1190-202
Thompson, Robert S; Roller, Rachel; Greenwood, Benjamin N et al. (2016) Wheel running improves REM sleep and attenuates stress-induced flattening of diurnal rhythms in F344 rats. Stress 19:312-24
Clark, Peter J; Amat, Jose; McConnell, Sara O et al. (2015) Running Reduces Uncontrollable Stress-Evoked Serotonin and Potentiates Stress-Evoked Dopamine Concentrations in the Rat Dorsal Striatum. PLoS One 10:e0141898
Mika, Agnieszka; Van Treuren, Will; González, Antonio et al. (2015) Exercise is More Effective at Altering Gut Microbial Composition and Producing Stable Changes in Lean Mass in Juvenile versus Adult Male F344 Rats. PLoS One 10:e0125889
Mika, Agnieszka; Bouchet, Courtney A; Bunker, Preston et al. (2015) Voluntary exercise during extinction of auditory fear conditioning reduces the relapse of fear associated with potentiated activity of striatal direct pathway neurons. Neurobiol Learn Mem 125:224-35
Clark, Peter J; Ghasem, Parsa R; Mika, Agnieszka et al. (2014) Wheel running alters patterns of uncontrollable stress-induced cfos mRNA expression in rat dorsal striatum direct and indirect pathways: A possible role for plasticity in adenosine receptors. Behav Brain Res 272:252-63
Loughridge, Alice B; Greenwood, Benjamin N; Day, Heidi E W et al. (2013) Microarray analyses reveal novel targets of exercise-induced stress resistance in the dorsal raphe nucleus. Front Behav Neurosci 7:37
Greenwood, Benjamin N; Spence, Katie G; Crevling, Danielle M et al. (2013) Exercise-induced stress resistance is independent of exercise controllability and the medial prefrontal cortex. Eur J Neurosci 37:469-78

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