Examining Projections to the Anterior Cingulate Cortex in Prairie Voles Open Access

Abstract

Social cognition is a set of processes necessary for individuals to interact with others. Among one of many socio-cognitive processes is empathy, which is impaired in individuals with psychiatric disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Consolation is an empathy-like prosocial behavior, defined as comforting another in distress, and is exhibited by humans towards each other. The prairie vole, a monogamous and highly affiliative species, is notable for expressing consolation behavior toward their mates. These animals exhibit consolation through allogrooming when their partner is in distress. Prior research has established that consolation induces neural activity in the vole anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). To gain a better understanding of the brain regions that project to the ACC in voles, we used a tracing strategy paired with a semi-automated cell counting software, Wholebrain, to map inputs to the ACC. Prairie voles received unilateral stereotaxic infusion of AAVrg-CAG-GFP to the ACC. Following two weeks of viral incubation, animals were perfused, and their brains sectioned at 40 µM on a cryostat. These sections were stained and imaged on a fluorescent microscope. WholeBrain software was then used to identify and quantify cells projecting to the ACC. Cortical structures found projecting to the ACC include the piriform area, claustrum, olfactory area, primary somatosensory cortex, insula, infralimbic area, and orbitofrontal cortex. A control chemogenetic study was also performed to determine whether the chemogenetic exogenous ligand Clozapine-N-Oxide (CNO) affects vole social behavior during a consolation test. Our study found that there was no significant difference between CNO and saline in behavioral outcomes. Future studies using DREADDs will involve manipulations to the neural pathways projecting to the ACC to determine how these circuits are implicated in consolation in prairie voles. 

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Abstract......................................................................................................................4

Introduction...............................................................................................................7

Methods...................................................................................................................13

Results.....................................................................................................................17

Discussion................................................................................................................19Conclusions.............................................................................................................22

Acknowledgments...................................................................................................24

References...............................................................................................................25

Tables.......................................................................................................................29

Table 1: Ethogram of Relevant Social Behaviors 29

Figures.....................................................................................................................30

Figure 1: Animals received injection of AAVrg-CAG-GFP to the ACC 30

Figure 2: Animals underwent a consolation behavioral paradigm across six days 31

Figure 3: Brain regions projecting to the ACC 32

Figure 4: Durations of behaviors exhibited during reunion period 33

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology
Degree	B.S.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Biology, Neuroscience
Keyword	social cognition
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Larry J. Young, Emory University
Committee Members	Marcela Benitez, Emory University Shannon Gourley, Emory University Aubrey Kelly, Emory University

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