Direct Retino-Raphe Projection Alters Serotonergic Tone and Affective Behavior

Light is a powerful modulator of higher-order cognitive processes such as mood but it remains unclear which neural circuits mediate the impact of light on affective behavior. We found that light deprivation produces a depressive-like behavioral state that is reversed by activation of direct retinal...

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Published in:Neuropsychopharmacology (New York, N.Y.) N.Y.), 2013-06, Vol.38 (7), p.1163-1175
Main Authors: CHAORAN REN, LIJU LUAN, MINGLIANG PU, LAU, Benson Wui-Man, XIN HUANG, JIAN YANG, YUAN ZHOU, XIHONG WU, JIE GAO, PICKARD, Gary E, SO, Kwok-Fai
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Action Potentials - drug effects
Action Potentials - physiology
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Affect - drug effects
Affect - physiology
Animal cognition
Animals
Antibodies
Behavior, Animal - drug effects
Behavior, Animal - physiology
Biological and medical sciences
Brain research
Darkness
Depression
Fluoxetine - pharmacology
Gerbillinae
Imipramine - pharmacology
Laboratories
Male
Medical sciences
Mood disorders
Neural Pathways - metabolism
Neural Pathways - physiology
Ophthalmology
Original
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Raphe Nuclei - metabolism
Raphe Nuclei - physiology
Retinal Ganglion Cells - physiology
Serotonin
Serotonin - metabolism
Serotonin - physiology
Visual impairment
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Summary:Light is a powerful modulator of higher-order cognitive processes such as mood but it remains unclear which neural circuits mediate the impact of light on affective behavior. We found that light deprivation produces a depressive-like behavioral state that is reversed by activation of direct retinal signals to the serotonergic dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) in a manner equivalent to treatment with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluoxetine. Surprisingly, the DRN-projecting retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are indistinguishable from the classic alpha/Y-like RGC type that contributes to image-forming visual pathways. Silencing RGC firing or specific immunotoxin ablation of DRN-projecting RGCs increased depressive-like behavior and reduced serotonin levels in the DRN. Serotonin has a key role in the pathophysiology of depression, and these results demonstrate that retino-raphe signals modulate DRN serotonergic tone and affective behavior.
ISSN:0893-133X
1740-634X
DOI:10.1038/npp.2013.35