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A07 – Interaction between stress and serotonergic signalling pathways to modulate extinction learning in the amygdala

Katharina Spoida, Stefan Herlitze

The amygdala has been identified as one of the main neuronal circuits involved in the processing of memories of emotional behavior including anxiety and fear and is one of the key components in the brain for processing stress responses. Thus, we will investigate the role of serotonergic signaling pathways within the amygdala for aversive learning and extinction under normal and stress conditions. Using an optogenetic strategy we will first control serotonin release directly in the amygdala and then 5HT2A and 5HT2C receptor pathways in specifically in GABAergic or glutamtergic neurons to enhance or inhibit fear conditioning, extinction, renewal and reinstatement under normal and stress conditions.

Guiding questions of A07:

  • How does serotonin release in the amygdala in vivo affect fear conditioning, extinction, renewal and reinstatement under normal and stress conditions?
  • How do 5HT2A and 5HT2C receptor signals activated either in GABAergic (parvalbumin positive) or glutamatergic neurons in the basolateral amygdala, respectively, enhance or inhibit fear conditioning, extinction, renewal and reinstatement under normal and stress conditions?
  • How do 5HT2A and 5HT2C receptor signals in either GABAergic (parvalbumin positive) or glutamatergic neurons in the basolateral amygdala determine the cellular responses of GABAergic and glutamatergic neurons during fear conditioning and extinction under normal and stress conditions?
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Katharina Spoida

Projektleiterin A07

Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Stefan Herlitze

Projektleiter A07

Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Sandra Süß

Postdoc A07

Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Hanna Böke

Doktorandin A07

Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Patricia Lössl

Studentische Mitarbeiterin A07

Ruhr-Universität Bochum

10 project-relevant publications

Azimi Z, Barzan R, Spoida K, Surdin T, Wollenweber P, Mark MD, Herlitze S, Jancke D (2020) Separable gain control of ongoing and evoked activity in the visual cortex by serotonergic input. ELife. 9.

Batsikadze G, Rezaee Z, Chang D-I, Gerwig M, Herlitze S, Dutta A, Nitsche MA, Timmann D (2019) Effects of cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation on cerebellar-brain inhibition in humans. A systematic evaluation. Brain Stimul. 12: 1177–1186.

Bohne P, Schwarz MK, Herlitze S, Mark MD (2019) A new projection from the deep cerebellar nuclei to the hippocampus via the ventrolateral and laterodorsal thalamus in mice. Front Neural Circuits. 13: 51.

Eickelbeck D, Karapinar R, Herlitze S, Spoida K (2018) Optogenetic Approaches for Controlling Neuronal Activity and Plasticity. In: Handbook of in vivo Neural Plasticity Techniques, pp 285–310. Elsevier.

Eickelbeck D, Karapinar R, Jack A, Suess ST, Barzan R, Azimi Z, Surdin T, Grömmke M, Mark MD, Gerwert K, Jancke D, Wahle P, Spoida K, Herlitze S (2019) CaMello-XR enables visualization and optogenetic control of Gq/11 signals and receptor trafficking in GPCR-specific domains. Commun Biol. 2: 60.

Eickelbeck D, Rudack T, Tennigkeit SA, Surdin T, Karapinar R Schwitalla J-C, Mücher B, Shulman M, Scherlo M, Althoff P, Mark MD, Gerwert K, Herlitze S (2020) Lamprey Parapinopsin (“UVLamP”). A Bistable UV‐Sensitive Optogenetic Switch for Ultrafast Control of GPCR Pathways. Chembiochem. 21: 612–617.

Hasegawa E, Maejima T, Yoshida T, Masseck OA, Herlitze S, Yoshioka M, Sakurai T, Mieda M (2017) Serotonin neurons in the dorsal raphe mediate the anticataplectic action of orexin neurons by reducing amygdala activity. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 114: E3526-E3535.

Soya S, Takahashi TM, McHugh TJ, Maejima T, Herlitze S, Abe M, Sakimura K, Sakurai T (2017) Orexin modulates behavioral fear expression through the locus coeruleus. Nat Commun. 8: 1606.

Spoida K, Eickelbeck D, Karapinar R, Eckhardt T, Mark MD, Jancke D, Ehinger BV, König P, Dalkara D, Herlitze S, Masseck OA (2016) Melanopsin Variants as Intrinsic Optogenetic On and Off Switches for Transient versus Sustained Activation of G Protein Pathways. Curr Biol. 26: 1206–1212.150

Tennigkeit SA, Karapinar R, Rudack T, Dreier M-A, Althoff P, Eickelbeck D, Surdin T, Grommke M, Mark MD, Spoida K, Lubben M, Howeler U, Herlitze S, Gerwert K (2019) Design of an Ultrafast G Protein Switch Based on a Mouse Melanopsin Variant. Chembiochem. 20(14): 766-1771.