Dopamine-dependent responses to cocaine depend on corticotropin-releasing factor receptor subtypes

The effects on locomotor response to cocaine challenge, acquisition of cocaine conditioned place preference and cocaine-induced dopamine (DA) release in nucleus accumbens and ventral tegmental area by the non-specific corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) receptors antagonist alpha-helical CRF, the selective CRF receptor subtype 1 antagonist CP-154,526 and the selective CRF receptor subtype 2 antagonist anti-sauvagine-30 (AS-30) were investigated in rats. Both alpha-helical CRF (10 microg, i.c.v.) and CP-154,526 (3 microg, i.c.v.) decreased the cocaine-induced distance travelled, whereas AS-30 (3 microg, i.c.v.) did not show such an effect. The CRF receptor antagonists also have significant effects on stereotype counts induced by cocaine injection, in which the alpha-helical CRF or CP-154,526 but not AS-30 did significantly reduce the stereotype counts. alpha-Helical CRF (10 microg) prior to each injection of cocaine blocked cocaine conditioned place preference with no significant difference observed in the time spent in the drug-paired side between post- and pre-training and both 1 and 3 microg CP-154,526 also had significant inhibitory effects on cocaine-induced place preference. However, pre-treatment with an i.c.v. infusion of AS-30 (1 or 3 microg) prior to each injection of cocaine did not affect the acquisition of conditioned place preference. The alpha-helical CRF and CP-154,526 reduced extracellular DA levels of nucleus accumbens and ventral tegmental area in response to the injection of cocaine. However, both alpha-helical CRF and CP-154,526 did not modify extracellular DA levels under basal conditions. In contrast, the i.c.v. infusion of AS-30 had no effects on either the basal DA or the cocaine-induced increase in DA release in nucleus accumbens and ventral tegmental area. These findings demonstrate that activation of the CRF receptor is involved in behavioral and neurochemical effects of cocaine challenge and cocaine reward and that the role of CRF receptor subtypes 1 and 2 in cocaine-induced locomotion, reward and DA release is not identical. The CRF receptor subtype 1 is largely responsible for the action of the CRF system on cocaine locomotion and reward. These results suggest that the CRF receptor antagonist, particularly the CRF receptor subtype 1 antagonist, might be of some value in the treatment of cocaine addiction and cocaine-related behavioral disorders.     

Root responses to neighbors depend on neighbor identity and resource distribution

Plant and Soil - In a complex soil environment, competitive and environmental factors interact with individual traits to influence a plant’s root growth patterns and ability to compete for...     

Phenology responses of temperate butterflies to latitude depend on ecological traits

Global change influences species’ seasonal occurrence, or phenology. In cold‐adapted insects, the activity is expected to start earlier with a warming climate, but contradictory evidence exists, and the reactions may be linked to species‐specific traits. Using data from the GBIF database, we selected 105 single‐brooded Holarctic butterflies inhabiting broad latitudinal ranges. We regressed patterns of an adult flight against latitudes of the records, controlling for altitude and year effects. Species with delayed flight periods towards the high latitudes, or stable flight periods across latitudes, prevailed over those that advanced their flight towards the high latitudes. The responses corresponded with the species’ seasonality (flight of early season species was delayed and flight of summer species was advanced at high latitudes) and oceanic vs. continental climatic niches (delays in oceanic, stability in continental species). Future restructuring of butterfly seasonal patterns in high latitudes will reflect climatic niches, and hence the evolutionary history of participating species.     

Grassland responses to increased rainfall depend on the timescale of forcing

Forecasting impacts of future climate change is an important challenge to biologists, both for understanding the consequences of different emissions trajectories and for developing adaptation measures that will minimize biodiversity loss. Existing variation provides a window into the effects of climate on species and ecosystems, but in many places does not encompass the levels or timeframes of forcing expected under directional climatic change. Experiments help us to fill in these uncertainties, simulating directional shifts to examine outcomes of new levels and sustained changes in conditions. Here, we explore the translation between short‐term responses to climate variability and longer‐term trajectories that emerge under directional climatic change. In a decade‐long experiment, we compare effects of short‐term and long‐term forcings across three trophic levels in grassland plots subjected to natural and experimental variation in precipitation. For some biological responses (plant productivity), responses to long‐term extension of the rainy season were consistent with short‐term responses, while for others (plant species richness, abundance of invertebrate herbivores and predators), there was pronounced divergence of long‐term trajectories from short‐term responses. These differences between biological responses mean that sustained directional changes in climate can restructure ecological relationships characterizing a system. Importantly, a positive relationship between plant diversity and productivity turned negative under one scenario of climate change, with a similar change in the relationship between plant productivity and consumer biomass. Inferences from experiments such as this form an important part of wider efforts to understand the complexities of climate change responses.     

The responses of osteoblasts to fluid shear stress depend on substrate chemistries

Natural bone tissue receives chemical and mechanical stimuli in physiological environment. The effects of material chemistry alone and mechanical stimuli alone on osteoblasts have been widely investigated. This study reports the synergistic influences of material chemistry and flow shear stress (FSS) on biological functions of osteoblasts. Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on glass slides with functional groups of OH, CH₃, and NH₂ were employed to provide various material chemistries, while FSS (12 dynes/cm²) was produced by a parallel-plate fluid flow system. Material chemistry alone had no obvious effects on the expressions of ATP, nitric oxide (NO), and prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂), whereas FSS stimuli alone increased the production of those items. When both material chemistry and FSS were loaded, cell proliferation and the expressions of ATP, NO and PGE₂ were highly dependent on the material chemistry. Examination of the focal adhesion (FA) formation and F-actin organization of osteoblasts before FSS exposure indicates that the FA formation and F-actin organization followed similar chemistry-dependence. The inhibition of FAs and/or disruption of F-actins eliminated the material dependence of FSS-induced ATP, PGE₂ and NO release. A possible mechanism is proposed: material chemistry controls the F-actin organization and FA formation of osteoblasts, which further modulates FSS-induced cellular responses.     

Fibroblast responses to cyclic mechanical stretching depend on cell orientation to the stretching direction

Fibroblasts in intact tendons align with stretching direction, but they tend to orient randomly in healing tendons. Therefore, a question arises: Do fibroblast responses to mechanical stretching depend on their orientation? To address this question, human patellar tendon fibroblasts were grown in custom-made silicone dishes that possess microgrooved culture surfaces. The direction of the microgrooves was either parallel or normal to the direction of cyclic uniaxial stretching. Fibroblasts grown in these microgrooves had a polar morphology and oriented along the direction of the microgrooves regardless of the stretching conditions. Tendon fibroblasts expressed higher levels of alpha-smooth muscle actin when they were oriented parallel to the stretching direction than when they were oriented normal to the stretching direction. Also, cyclic stretching of the fibroblasts perpendicular to their orientation induced a higher activity level of secretory phospholipase A(2) compared with stretching of the cells parallel to their orientation. Thus, these results show that fibroblast responses to mechanical stretching depend on cell orientation to the stretching direction.     

Maize root responses to drought stress depend on root class and axial position

In this study we tested the hypotheses that root classes would exhibit distinctive anatomical and architectural responses to drought stress, and that those responses would vary along the root axes. The root systems of four maize (Zea mays L.) sweet corn genotypes designated SC1, SC2, SC3 and SC4 were phenotyped under well-watered and drought treatments in greenhouse mesocosms, permitting increasing stratification of moisture availability as the drought progressed. Anatomical and architectural responses to drought were evaluated for each root class. Lignin distribution was assessed by image processing of UV-illuminated root cross-sections acquired by laser ablation tomography. The two cultivars with less biomass reduction under drought, SC3 and SC4, substantially enhanced lateral root development along the apical segments of axial roots when plants were grown with drought stress. These segments grew into the deeper part of the mesocosm where more moisture was available. Apical segments of the axial and large lateral roots from drought-stressed plants were thicker and had greater theoretical axial water conductance than basal segments, especially in SC3 and SC4. Basal segments of crown roots of SC3 and SC4 showed increased lignification of the stele under drought. Root anatomical and architectural responses to drought are complex and vary among cultivars and root classes, and along root axes. Drought-induced proliferation of lateral roots on apical segments of axial roots would be expected to enhance deep water acquisition, while lignification of axial roots could help preserve axial water transport.

     

Grassland root demography responses to multiple climate change drivers depend on root morphology

Aims

We examine how root system demography and morphology are affected by air warming and multiple, simultaneous climate change drivers.

Methods

Using minirhizotrons, we studied root growth, morphology, median longevity, risk of mortality and standing root pool in the upper soil horizon of a temperate grassland ecosystem for 3 years. Grassland monoliths were subjected to four climate treatments in a replicated additive design: control (C); elevated temperature (T); combined T and summer precipitation reduction (TD); combined TD and elevated atmospheric CO₂ (TDCO₂).

Results

Air warming (C vs T) and the combined climate change treatment (C vs TDCO₂) had a positive effect on root growth rate and standing root pool. However, root responses to climate treatment varied depending on diameter size class. For fine roots (≤ 0.1 mm), new root length and mortality increased under warming but decreased in response to elevated CO₂ (TD vs TDCO₂); for coarse roots (> 0.2 mm), length and mortality increased under both elevated CO₂ and combined climate change drivers.

Conclusions

Our data suggest that the standing roots pool in our grassland system may increase under future climatic conditions. Contrasted behaviour of fine and coarse roots may correspond to differential root activity of these extreme diameter classes in future climate.     

Paradoxical striatal cellular signaling responses to psychostimulants in hyperactive mice

Recent investigations have shown that three major striatal-signaling pathways (protein kinase A/DARPP-32, Akt/glycogen synthase kinase 3, and ERK) are involved in the regulation of locomotor activity by the monoaminergic neurotransmitter dopamine. Here we used dopamine transporter knock-out mice to examine which particular changes in the regulation of these cell signaling mechanisms are associated with distinct behavioral responses to psychostimulants. In normal animals, amphetamine and methylphenidate increase extracellular levels of dopamine, leading to an enhancement of locomotor activity. However, in dopamine transporter knock-out mice that display a hyperactivity phenotype resulting from a persistent hyperdopaminergic state, these drugs antagonize hyperactivity. Under basal conditions, dopamine transporter knock-out mice show enhanced striatal DARPP-32 phosphorylation, activation of ERK, and inactivation of Akt as compared with wild-type littermates. However, administration of amphetamine or methylphenidate to these mice reveals that inhibition of ERK signaling is a common determinant for the ability of these drugs to antagonize hyperactivity. In contrast, psychostimulants activate ERK and induce hyperactivity in normal animals. In hyperactive mice psychostimulant-mediated behavioral inhibition and ERK regulation are also mimicked by the serotonergic drugs fluoxetine and 5-carboxamidotryptamine, thereby revealing the involvement of serotonin-dependent inhibition of striatal ERK signaling. Furthermore, direct inhibition of the ERK signaling cascade in vivo using the MEK inhibitor SL327 recapitulates the actions of psychostimulants in hyperactive mice and prevents the locomotor-enhancing effects of amphetamine in normal animals. These data suggest that the inhibitory action of psychostimulants on dopamine-dependent hyperactivity results from altered regulation of striatal ERK signaling. In addition, these results illustrate how altered homeostatic state of neurotransmission can influence in vivo signaling responses and biological actions of pharmacological agents used to manage psychiatric conditions such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).     

Dynamic emotional and neural responses to music depend on performance expression and listener experience

Apart from its natural relevance to cognition, music provides a window into the intimate relationships between production, perception, experience, and emotion. Here, emotional responses and neural activity were observed as they evolved together with stimulus parameters over several minutes. Participants listened to a skilled music performance that included the natural fluctuations in timing and sound intensity that musicians use to evoke emotional responses. A mechanical performance of the same piece served as a control. Before and after fMRI scanning, participants reported real-time emotional responses on a 2-dimensional rating scale (arousal and valence) as they listened to each performance. During fMRI scanning, participants listened without reporting emotional responses. Limbic and paralimbic brain areas responded to the expressive dynamics of human music performance, and both emotion and reward related activations during music listening were dependent upon musical training. Moreover, dynamic changes in timing predicted ratings of emotional arousal, as well as real-time changes in neural activity. BOLD signal changes correlated with expressive timing fluctuations in cortical and subcortical motor areas consistent with pulse perception, and in a network consistent with the human mirror neuron system. These findings show that expressive music performance evokes emotion and reward related neural activations, and that music's affective impact on the brains of listeners is altered by musical training. Our observations are consistent with the idea that music performance evokes an emotional response through a form of empathy that is based, at least in part, on the perception of movement and on violations of pulse-based temporal expectancies.     

Human responses to extreme altitudes

It is a strange coincidence that the highest point on Earthis very close to the limit of human tolerance to hypoxia. Thephysiological changes that allow humans to reach these extremealtitudes involve enormous alterations of their normal state.It is useful to contrast this response with two others to highaltitude. One is acclimatization that allows lowlanders to ascendto altitudes of up to 5000 m and remain there for an indefiniteperiod. The other is evolutionary adaptation which allows highlandersto live continuously over generations at altitudes up to 5000m. These two responses enable humans to survive for an indefiniteperiod at high altitude. By contrast, the changes that allowascent to extreme altitudes are not compatible with an extendedstay because of a poorly-understood process called high-altitudedeterioration. The most important physiological response toextreme altitude is extreme hyperventilation which, on the summitof Mt. Everest, drives the alveolar P_CO2 down to 7–8 mmHg.This is associated with a marked respiratory alkalosis withan arterial pH exceeding 7.7. Interestingly this alkalosis increasesthe oxygen affinity of hemoglobin, a response which the successfulclimber shares with many other animals in oxygen-deprived environments.The arterial P_O2 on the Everest summit is only about 30 mmHgand falls on exercise because of diffusion limitation of oxygenacross the blood-gas barrier. Maximal oxygen consumption onthe summit is just over 1 liter.min^–1. Anaerobic metabolismas measured by blood lactate levels is paradoxically reducedat extreme altitudes.     

Plant responses to variable timing of aboveground clipping and belowground herbivory depend on plant age

Aims Plants use different types of responses such as tolerance and induced defense to mitigate the effects of herbivores. The direction and magnitude of both these plant responses can vary with plant age. However, most studies have focused on aboveground herbivory, whereas important feeding occurs belowground. Here, we tested the hypothesis that plant tolerance and defense following shoot damage or root herbivory depends on plant age.     

Herbaceous vegetation responses to experimental fire in savannas and forests depend on biome and climate

Fire–vegetation feedbacks potentially maintain global savanna and forest distributions. Accordingly, vegetation in savanna and forest ecosystems should have differential responses to fire, but fire response data for herbaceous vegetation have yet to be synthesized across biomes. Here, we examined herbaceous vegetation responses to experimental fire at 30 sites spanning four continents. Across a variety of metrics, herbaceous vegetation increased in abundance where fire was applied, with larger responses to fire in wetter and in cooler and/or less seasonal systems. Compared to forests, savannas were associated with a 4.8 (±0.4) times larger difference in herbaceous vegetation abundance for burned versus unburned plots. In particular, grass cover decreased with fire exclusion in savannas, largely via decreases in C₄ grass cover, whereas changes in fire frequency had a relatively weak effect on grass cover in forests. These differential responses underscore the importance of fire for maintaining the vegetation structure of savannas and forests.     

Alpine plant functional group responses to fertiliser addition depend on abiotic regime and community composition

Background and aims

We ask how productivity responses of alpine plant communities to increased nutrient availability can be predicted from abiotic regime and initial functional type composition.

Methods

We compared four Caucasian alpine plant communities (lichen heath, Festuca varia grassland, Geranium-Hedysarum meadow, snow bed community) forming a toposequence and contrasting in productivity and dominance structure for biomass responses to experimental fertilization (N, P, NP, Ca) and irrigation for 4–5?years.

Results

The dominant plants in more productive communities monopolized added N and P, at the expense of their neighbors. In three out of four communities, N and P fertilizations gave greater aboveground biomass increase than N or P fertilization alone, indicating overall co-limitation of N and P, with N being most limiting. Relative biomass increase in NP treatment was negatively related to biomass in control plots across the four communities. Grasses often responded more vigorously to P, but sedges to N alone. Finally, we present one of the rare examples of a forb showing a strong N or NP response.

Conclusion

Our findings will help improve our ability to predict community composition and biomass dynamics in cool ecosystems subject to changing nutrient availability as induced by climate or land-use changes.     

Life history responses depend on timing of cannibalism in a damselfly

1. Cannibalism has often been suggested as an important mechanism to reach the necessary developmental stage and size before a critical time horizon is reached, but this role has been largely unexplored. We studied effects of cannibalism on the life history of the damselfly Lestes viridis under combinations of a time constraint (by manipulating the perceived time available in the growth season) and a biotic constraint (density). 2. Larvae had a faster development and growth rate when reared at high time stress (late photoperiod). They also had a higher growth rate and mass at emergence when cannibalism occurred (density 2 and 4). Cannibalism occurred earlier at higher density. Accelerated life history responses (faster development and growth rate) and a higher mass at emergence were dependent upon the timing of cannibalism. Responses were more pronounced or only present if cannibalism occurred early in the larval period. 3. Our data suggest that cannibalism may not only act as a lifeboat mechanism by enabling cannibals to survive detrimental ecological conditions, but may also act as a compensatory mechanism to keep life history variables near‐optimal at life history transitions, even under sub‐optimal conditions.     

Fastigial nucleus-mediated respiratory responses depend on the medullary gigantocellular nucleus.

Electrical stimulation of the rostral fastigial nucleus (FNr) alters respiration via activation of local neurons. We hypothesized that this FNr-mediated respiratory response was dependent on the integrity of the nucleus gigantocellularis of the medulla (NGC). Electrical stimulation of the FNr in 15 anesthetized and tracheotomized spontaneously breathing rats significantly altered ventilation by 35.2 +/- 11.0% (P < 0.01) with the major effect being excitatory (78%). This respiratory response did not significantly differ from control after lesions of the NGC via bilateral microinjection of kainic or ibotenic acid (4.5 +/- 1.9%; P > 0.05) but persisted in sham controls. Eight other rats, in which horseradish peroxidase (HRP) solution was previously microinjected into the left NGC, served as nonstimulation controls or were exposed to either 15-min repeated electrical stimulation of the right FNr or hypercapnia for 90 min. Histochemical and immunocytochemical data showed that the right FNr contained clustered HRP-labeled neurons, most of which were double labeled with c-Fos immunoreactivity in both electrically and CO(2)-stimulated rats. We conclude that the NGC receives monosynaptic FNr inputs and is required for fully expressing FNr-mediated respiratory responses.