Importance of COMT in the regulation of prefrontal dopamine

The prefrontal cortex (PFC), located in the anterior region of the frontal lobe, is considered to have several key roles in higher cognitive and executive functions. In general, the PFC can be seen as a coordinator of thought and action allowing subjects to behave in a goal-directed manner. Due to its anatomical connections with a variety of cortical and subcortical structures, several neurotransmitters, including dopamine, are involved in the regulation of PFC activity. In general, the majority of released dopamine is cleared by the dopamine transporter (DAT). In the PFC however, the number of presynaptic DAT is diminished, emphasizing the relative importance of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) in dopamine metabolism. As a result, the role of COMT in the etiology of psychotic disorders is under constant debate. The present study investigated the role of COMT in prefrontal cortical dopamine metabolism by different neurochemical methods in COMT knockout (COMT-KO) mice. Pharmacological tools to inhibit other dopamine clearing mechanisms were also used for a more comprehensive and collective picture. In addition, this study investigated how a lack of the soluble (S-) COMT isoform affects the total COMT activity as well as the pharmacokinetics of orally administered L-dopa using mutant mice expressing only the membrane-bound (MB-) COMT isoform. Also the role of COMT in striatal and accumbal dopamine turnover during Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) challenge was studied. We found markedly increased basal dopamine concentrations in the PFC, but not the striatum or nucleus accumbens (NAcc), of mice lacking COMT. Pharmacological inhibition of the noradrenaline transporter (NET) and monoamine oxidase (MAO) elevated prefrontal cortical dopamine levels several-fold, whereas inhibition of DAT did not. The lack of COMT doubled the dopamine raising effects of NET and MAO inhibition. No compensatory expression of either DAT or NET was found in the COMT-KO mice. The lack of S-COMT decreased the total COMT activity by 50-70 % and modified dopamine transmission and the pharmacokinetics of exogenous Ldopa in a sex and tissue specific manner. Finally, we found that subsequent tolcapone and THC increased dopamine levels in the NAcc, but not in the striatum. Conclusively, this study presents neurochemical evidence for the important role of COMT in the PFC and shows that COMT is responsible for about half of prefrontal cortical dopamine metabolism. This study also highlights the previously underestimated proportional role of MB-COMT and supports the clinical evidence of a gene x environment interaction between COMT and cannabis.

Roles of forced nicotine exposure and Comt gene disruption in the development of addiction-related behavioural and neurochemical changes in mice

Activation of midbrain dopamine systems is thought to be critically involved in the addictive properties of abused substances. Drugs of abuse increase dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens and dorsal striatum, which are the target areas of mesolimbic and nigrostriatal dopamine pathways, respectively. Dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens is thought to mediate the attribution of incentive salience to rewards, and dorsal striatal dopamine release is involved in habit formation. In addition, changes in the function of prefrontal cortex (PFC), the target area of mesocortical dopamine pathway, may skew information processing and memory formation such that the addict pays an abnormal amount of attention to drug-related cues. In this study, we wanted to explore how long-term forced oral nicotine exposure or the lack of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), one of the dopamine metabolizing enzymes, would affect the functioning of these pathways. We also wanted to find out how the forced nicotine exposure or the lack of COMT would affect the consumption of nicotine, alcohol, or cocaine. First, we studied the effect of forced chronic nicotine exposure on the sensitivity of dopamine D2-like autoreceptors in microdialysis and locomotor activity experiments. We found that the sensitivity of these receptors was unchanged after forced oral nicotine exposure, although an increase in the sensitivity was observed in mice treated with intermittent nicotine injections twice daily for 10 days. Thus, the effect of nicotine treatment on dopamine autoreceptor sensitivity depends on the route, frequency, and time course of drug administration. Second, we investigated whether the forced oral nicotine exposure would affect the reinforcing properties of nicotine injections. The chronic nicotine exposure did not significantly affect the development of conditioned place preference to nicotine. In the intravenous self-administration paradigm, however, the nicotine-exposed animals self-administered nicotine at a lower unit dose than the control animals, indicating that their sensitivity to the reinforcing effects of nicotine was enhanced. Next, we wanted to study whether the Comt gene knock-out animals would be a suitable model to study alcohol and cocaine consumption or addiction. Although previous work had shown male Comt knock-out mice to be less sensitive to the locomotor-activating effects of cocaine, the present study found that the lack of COMT did not affect the consumption of cocaine solutions or the development of cocaine-induced place preference. However, the present work did find that male Comt knock-out mice, but not female knock-out mice, consumed ethanol more avidly than their wild-type littermates. This finding suggests that COMT may be one of the factors, albeit not a primary one, contributing to the risk of alcoholism. Last, we explored the effect of COMT deficiency on dorsal striatal, accumbal, and prefrontal cortical dopamine metabolism under no-net-flux conditions and under levodopa load in freely-moving mice. The lack of COMT did not affect the extracellular dopamine concentrations under baseline conditions in any of the brain areas studied. In the prefrontal cortex, the dopamine levels remained high for a prolonged time after levodopa treatment in male, but not female, Comt knock-out mice. COMT deficiency induced accumulation of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, which increased further under levodopa load. Homovanillic acid was not detectable in Comt knock-out animals either under baseline conditions or after levodopa treatment. Taken together, the present results show that although forced chronic oral nicotine exposure affects the reinforcing properties of self-administered nicotine, it is not an addiction model itself. COMT seems to play a minor role in dopamine metabolism and in the development of addiction under baseline conditions, indicating that dopamine function in the brain is well-protected from perturbation. However, the role of COMT becomes more important when the dopaminergic system is challenged, such as by pharmacological manipulation.

Human brain networks of auditory attention and working memory

This thesis examines brain networks involved in auditory attention and auditory working memory using measures of task performance, brain activity, and neuroanatomical connectivity. Auditory orienting and maintenance of attention were compared with visual orienting and maintenance of attention, and top-down controlled attention was compared to bottom-up triggered attention in audition. Moreover, the effects of cognitive load on performance and brain activity were studied using an auditory working memory task. Corbetta and Shulman s (2002) model of visual attention suggests that what is known as the dorsal attention system (intraparietal sulcus/superior parietal lobule, IPS/SPL and frontal eye field, FEF) is involved in the control of top-down controlled attention, whereas what is known as the ventral attention system (temporo-parietal junction, TPJ and areas of the inferior/middle frontal gyrus, IFG/MFG) is involved in bottom-up triggered attention. The present results show that top-down controlled auditory attention also activates IPS/SPL and FEF. Furthermore, in audition, TPJ and IFG/MFG were activated not only by bottom-up triggered attention, but also by top-down controlled attention. In addition, the posterior cerebellum and thalamus were activated by top-down controlled attention shifts and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) was activated by to-be-ignored, but attention-catching salient changes in auditory input streams. VMPFC may be involved in the evaluation of environmental events causing the bottom-up triggered engagement of attention. Auditory working memory activated a brain network that largely overlapped with the one activated by top-down controlled attention. The present results also provide further evidence of the role of the cerebellum in cognitive processing: During auditory working memory tasks, both activity in the posterior cerebellum (the crus I/II) and reaction speed increased when the cognitive load increased. Based on the present results and earlier theories on the role of the cerebellum in cognitive processing, the function of the posterior cerebellum in cognitive tasks may be related to the optimization of response speed.

Neurotrophins and neuronal plasticity in the action of antidepressants and morphine

Neuronal plasticity is a well characterized phenomenon in the developing and adult brain. It refers to capasity of a single neuron to modify morphology, synaptic connections and activity. Neuronal connections and capacity for plastic events are compromised in several pathological disorders, such as major depression. In addition, neuronal atrophy has been reported in depressive patients. Neurotrophins are a group of secretory proteins functionally classified as neuronal survival factors. Neurotrophins, especially brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), have also been associated with promoting neuronal plasticity in dysfunctional neuronal networks. Chronic antidepressant treatment increases plastic events including neurogenesis and arborization and branching of neurites in distinct brain areas, such as the hippocampus. One suggested mode of action is where the antidepressants elevate the synaptic levels of BDNF thus further activating several signaling cascades via trkB-receptor. In our studies we have tried to clarify the mechanisms of action for antidepressants and to resolve the role of BDNF in this process. We found that chronic antidepressant treatment increases amount of markers of neuronal plasticity in both hippocampus and in the medial prefrontal cortex, both of which are closely linked to the etiology of major depression. Secondary actions of antidepressants include rapid activation of the trkB receptor followed by a phosphorylation of transcription factor CREB. In addition, activation of CREB by phosphorylation appears responsible for the regulation of the expression of the BDNF gene. Using transgenic mice we found that BDNF-induced trkB-mediated signaling proved crucial for the behavioral effects of antidepressants in the forced swimming test and for the survival of newly-born neurons in the adult hippocampus. Antidepressants not only increased neurogenesis in the adult hippocampus but also elevated the turnover of hippocampal neurons. During these studies we also discovered that another trkB ligand, NT-4, is involved in morphine-mediated anti-nociception and tolerance. These results present a novel role for trkB-mediated signaling in plastic events present in the opioid system. This thesis evaluates neuronal plasticity and trkB as a target for future antidepressant treatments.

Dynamics of contour, object and face processing in the human visual cortex

The neural basis of visual perception can be understood only when the sequence of cortical activity underlying successful recognition is known. The early steps in this processing chain, from retina to the primary visual cortex, are highly local, and the perception of more complex shapes requires integration of the local information. In Study I of this thesis, the progression from local to global visual analysis was assessed by recording cortical magnetoencephalographic (MEG) responses to arrays of elements that either did or did not form global contours. The results demonstrated two spatially and temporally distinct stages of processing: The first, emerging 70 ms after stimulus onset around the calcarine sulcus, was sensitive to local features only, whereas the second, starting at 130 ms across the occipital and posterior parietal cortices, reflected the global configuration. To explore the links between cortical activity and visual recognition, Studies II III presented subjects with recognition tasks of varying levels of difficulty. The occipito-temporal responses from 150 ms onwards were closely linked to recognition performance, in contrast to the 100-ms mid-occipital responses. The averaged responses increased gradually as a function of recognition performance, and further analysis (Study III) showed the single response strengths to be graded as well. Study IV addressed the attention dependence of the different processing stages: Occipito-temporal responses peaking around 150 ms depended on the content of the visual field (faces vs. houses), whereas the later and more sustained activity was strongly modulated by the observers attention. Hemodynamic responses paralleled the pattern of the more sustained electrophysiological responses. Study V assessed the temporal processing capacity of the human object recognition system. Above sufficient luminance, contrast and size of the object, the processing speed was not limited by such low-level factors. Taken together, these studies demonstrate several distinct stages in the cortical activation sequence underlying the object recognition chain, reflecting the level of feature integration, difficulty of recognition, and direction of attention.

A Probabilistic Approach to the Primary Visual Cortex

What can the statistical structure of natural images teach us about the human brain? Even though the visual cortex is one of the most studied parts of the brain, surprisingly little is known about how exactly images are processed to leave us with a coherent percept of the world around us, so we can recognize a friend or drive on a crowded street without any effort. By constructing probabilistic models of natural images, the goal of this thesis is to understand the structure of the stimulus that is the raison d etre for the visual system. Following the hypothesis that the optimal processing has to be matched to the structure of that stimulus, we attempt to derive computational principles, features that the visual system should compute, and properties that cells in the visual system should have. Starting from machine learning techniques such as principal component analysis and independent component analysis we construct a variety of sta- tistical models to discover structure in natural images that can be linked to receptive field properties of neurons in primary visual cortex such as simple and complex cells. We show that by representing images with phase invariant, complex cell-like units, a better statistical description of the vi- sual environment is obtained than with linear simple cell units, and that complex cell pooling can be learned by estimating both layers of a two-layer model of natural images. We investigate how a simplified model of the processing in the retina, where adaptation and contrast normalization take place, is connected to the nat- ural stimulus statistics. Analyzing the effect that retinal gain control has on later cortical processing, we propose a novel method to perform gain control in a data-driven way. Finally we show how models like those pre- sented here can be extended to capture whole visual scenes rather than just small image patches. By using a Markov random field approach we can model images of arbitrary size, while still being able to estimate the model parameters from the data.

Structural and functional roles of KCC2 in developing cortex

Cation chloride cotransporters (CCCs) are critical for controlling intracellular chloride homeostasis. The CCC family is composed of four isoforms of K-Cl cotransporters (KCC1-4), two isoforms of Na-K-2Cl cotransporters (NKCC1-2), one Na-Cl cotransporter (NCC) and two the structurally related proteins with unknown function, CCC8 also known as cation-chloride cotransporter interaction protein, CIP, and CCC9. KCC2 is a neuron-specific isoform, which plays a prominent role in controlling the intracellular Cl- concentration in neurons and is responsible for producing the negative shift of GABAA responses from depolarizing to hyperpolarizing during neuronal maturation. In the present studies we first used in situ hybridization to examine the developmental expression patterns of the cation-chloride cotransporters KCC1-4 and NKCC1. We found that they display complementary expression patterns during embryonic brain development. Most interestingly, KCC2 expression in the embryonic central nervous system strictly follows neuronal maturation. In vitro data obtained from primary and organotypic neuronal cultures support this finding and revealed a temporal correlation between the expression of KCC2 and synaptogenesis. We found that KCC2 is highly expressed in filopodia and mature spines as well as dendritic shaft and investigated the role of KCC2 in spine formation by analyzing KCC2-/- neurons in vitro. Our studies revealed that KCC2 is a key factor in the maturation of dendritic spines. Interestingly, the effect of KCC2 in spine formation is not due to Cl- transport activity, but mediated through the interaction between KCC2 C-terminal and intracellular protein associated with cytoskeleton. The interacting protein we found is protein 4.1N by immunoprecipitation. Our results indicate a structural role for KCC2 in the development of functional glutamatergic synapses and suggest KCC2 as a synchronizer for the functional development of glutamatergic and GABAergic synapses in neuronal network. Studies on the regulatory mechanisms of KCC2 expression during development and plasticity revealed that synaptic activity of both the glutamatergic and GABAergic system is not required for up-regulation of KCC2 during development, whereas in acute mature hippocampal slices which undergo continuous synchronous activity induced by the absence of Mg2+ solution, KCC2 mRNA and protein expression were down-regulated in CA1 pyramidal neurons subsequently leading to a reduced capacity for neuronal Cl- extrusion. This effect is mediated by endogenous BDNF-TrkB down-stream cascades involving both Shc/FRS-2 and PLCγ-CREB signaling. BDNF mediated changes in KCC2 expression indicate that KCC2 is significantly involved in the complex mechanisms of neuronal plasticity during development and pathophysiological conditions.

Functional imaging of peripheral vision and dorsal stream function in the human cerebral cortex

Visual information processing in brain proceeds in both serial and parallel fashion throughout various functionally distinct hierarchically organised cortical areas. Feedforward signals from retina and hierarchically lower cortical levels are the major activators of visual neurons, but top-down and feedback signals from higher level cortical areas have a modulating effect on neural processing. My work concentrates on visual encoding in hierarchically low level cortical visual areas in human brain and examines neural processing especially in cortical representation of visual field periphery. I use magnetoencephalography and functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure neuromagnetic and hemodynamic responses during visual stimulation and oculomotor and cognitive tasks from healthy volunteers. My thesis comprises six publications. Visual cortex forms a great challenge for modeling of neuromagnetic sources. My work shows that a priori information of source locations are needed for modeling of neuromagnetic sources in visual cortex. In addition, my work examines other potential confounding factors in vision studies such as light scatter inside the eye which may result in erroneous responses in cortex outside the representation of stimulated region, and eye movements and attention. I mapped cortical representations of peripheral visual field and identified a putative human homologue of functional area V6 of the macaque in the posterior bank of parieto-occipital sulcus. My work shows that human V6 activates during eye-movements and that it responds to visual motion at short latencies. These findings suggest that human V6, like its monkey homologue, is related to fast processing of visual stimuli and visually guided movements. I demonstrate that peripheral vision is functionally related to eye-movements and connected to rapid stream of functional areas that process visual motion. In addition, my work shows two different forms of top-down modulation of neural processing in the hierachically lowest cortical levels; one that is related to dorsal stream activation and may reflect motor processing or resetting signals that prepare visual cortex for change in the environment and another local signal enhancement at the attended region that reflects local feed-back signal and may perceptionally increase the stimulus saliency.

Herpes Simplex Virus Infection, Pathological Pain and Recurrent Lymphocytic Meningitis

Background: Aims of the study were: (i) to characterise the clinical picture, immunological features and changes in brain morphology and function in patients with widespread unilateral pain and HSV-infections, and (ii) to analyse the prevalence, clinical symptoms and immunological predisposing factors of HSV-2 induced recurrent lymphocytic meningitis (RLM) in Southern Finland. Patients and methods: Patients for the studies were recruited from the Pain Clinic, and from the Department of Neurology, at Helsinki University Central Hospital. Plasma concentrations of IgM, IgA, IgG, and IgG1-4, and serum concentrations of C3, C4 were measured. Serological anti-HSV-1 and -2 antibody status was tested. C4 genotyping, HLA-A, HLA-B and HLA-DRB1 typing, MBL2 genotyping, and IgG1 and IgG3 allotyping (Gm) were performed. Clinical neurological examination, quantitative sensory testing, skin biopsy, and functional magnetic resonance imaging were also performed. Results: HSV probably has a role in the generation of a pathological pain state. Low serum IgG1 and IgG3 levels, made the patients vulnerable for recurring HSV infections. Both functional and structural changes were observed in the brain pain-processing areas in the patients: they had less pain-related activity in the insular cortices bilaterally, in the anterior cingular cortex (ACC), and in the thalamus, and the gray matter density was lower in the ACC, in the frontal and prefrontal cortices. In the meningitis studies it was shown that RLM is more common and less benign than previously reported, and that neuropathic pain is frequently present both during and after meningitis episodes. HLA-DRB1*01, HLA-B*27, and low IgG1 levels are predisposing factors for RLM. Conclusions: Patients are vulnerable to recurrent HSV infections because of subtle immunological abnormalities. HSV causes diverse clinical manifestations. First, the herpes simplex virus, or the inflammatory process triggered by it, may cause pathological widespread pain probably by activating glial cells in the CNS. In these patients, signs of alterations in the brain pain-processing areas can be demonstrated by functional brain imaging methods. Secondly, HSV-2 induced RLM is a rare complication of HSV-2 virus. The predisposing factors include low IgG1 subclass levels, HLA-DRB1*01 and HLA –B*27 genotypes. Neuropathic pain is frequently associated with RLM.

Task-dependent activations of human auditory cortex during pitch discrimination and pitch memory tasks

"The functional organization of auditory cortex (AC) is still poorly understood. Previous studies suggest segregation of auditory processing streams for spatial and nonspatial information located in the posterior and anterior AC, respectively (Rauschecker and Tian, 2000; Arnott et al., 2004; Lomber and Malhotra, 2008). Furthermore, previous studies have shown that active listening tasks strongly modulate AC activations (Petkov et al., 2004; Fritz et al., 2005; Polley et al., 2006). However, the task dependence of AC activations has not been systematically investigated. In the present study, we applied high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging of the AC and adjacent areas to compare activations during pitch discrimination and n-back pitch memory tasks that were varied parametrically in difficulty. We found that anterior AC activations were increased during discrimination but not during memory tasks, while activations in the inferior parietal lobule posterior to the AC were enhanced during memory tasks but not during discrimination. We also found that wide areas of the anterior AC and anterior insula were strongly deactivated during the pitch memory tasks. While these results are consistent with the proposition that the anterior and posterior AC belong to functionally separate auditory processing streams, our results show that this division is present also between tasks using spatially invariant sounds. Together, our results indicate that activations of human AC are strongly dependent on the characteristics of the behavioral task."