Lectures and seminars Frontiers in Neural Circuits seminar series: with Laura DeNardo
Title: Early adversity promotes adolescent threat avoidance behaviors by enhancing prefrontal–amygdala communication through CRH⁺ glutamatergic neurons. May 21 at 11:00 in room Ragnar Granit, Biomedicum.
Welcome all members of Karolinska Institutet, as well as researchers and trainees from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm University, and other universities in the Stockholm region. We warmly encourage students, postdocs, and faculty to attend and engage with our distinguished guest.
Speaker:
Laura DeNardo, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
Time: 16 June, 11:00–12:00
Location: Ragnar Granit Lecture Hall, Biomedicum (level 3)
Title: Early adversity promotes adolescent threat avoidance behaviors by enhancing prefrontal–amygdala communication through CRH⁺ glutamatergic neurons
Abstract
Early life adversity (ELA) has enduring impacts on emotion circuit function. Following early maltreatment, neglect, or instability in the home, individuals often exhibit lifelong impairments in their evaluation and response to threats-hallmarks of mood and anxiety disorders. In affected individuals, excessive threat avoidance can interfere with rewarding behaviors, and these changes typically emerge during adolescence. However, the neurodevelopmental mechanisms linking ELA to increased threat responses remain unclear. We identified a stress-sensitive medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)-basolateral amygdala pathway that co-expresses corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and glutamate. We find that ELA strengthens this pathway and increases threat avoidance behavior during adolescence. Optogenetic inhibition and developmental CRH knockdown in this pathway both rescue ELA-induced elevations in adolescent avoidance, whereas broadly reducing mPFC CRH expression in typically-reared mice mimics ELA phenotypes. Together, our findings indicate that cell type-specific CRH signaling regulates developmental circuit plasticity, biasing emotional circuit function and potentially contributing to psychiatric vulnerability.
Recent publications
Early adversity potentiates prefrontal-amygdala communication through CRH+ glutamatergic neurons.
Goodpaster CM, Gongwer MW, Shari M, Klune CB, Jones NS, Ramirez M, Alturki M-B, Hundley R, Utter J DeNardo LA# (2025) bioRxiv 10.64898/2025.12.23.696229
Directed cell-type recruitment during consolidation of a remote memory.
Zeidler Z, Yu AL, Seong MP, Hundley R, DeNardo LA
bioRxiv 2025 Jun;():
Microglia regulate nucleus accumbens synaptic development and circuit function underlying threat avoidance behaviors.
Gongwer MW, Etienne F, Moca EN, Chappell MS, Blagburn-Blanco SV, Riley JP, Enos AS, Haratian M, Qi A, Rojo R, Wilke SA, Pridans C, DeNardo LA, De Biase LM
Res Sq 2025 Jan;():
A cell type-specific mechanism driving the rapid antidepressant effects of transcranial magnetic stimulation.
Gongwer MW, Qi A, Enos AS, Rueda SA, Klune CB, Shari M, Kashay AQ, Williams OH, Hacking A, Riley JP, Wilke GA, Yang Y, Lu H, Leuchter AF, DeNardo LA, Wilke SA
bioRxiv 2025 Jan;():
A developmental brain-wide screen identifies retrosplenial cortex as a key player in the emergence of persistent memory.
Jin B, Gongwer MW, Kearney BP, Ohanian L, Holden-Wingate L, Le B, Darmawan A, Nakayama Y, Mora SAR, DeNardo LA
bioRxiv 2024 Nov;():
Refreshments
Sandwiches and coffee will be provided.
Registration
No registration is needed.