Parabrachial CGRP Neurons Establish and Sustain Aversive Taste Memories

• Published in: Neuron (Cambridge, Mass.) Vol. 100; no. 4; pp. 891 - 899.e5
• Main Authors: Chen, Jane Y., Campos, Carlos A., Jarvie, Brooke C., Palmiter, Richard D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 21-11-2018; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Amygdala; Animals; Avoidance Learning - physiology; Calcitonin; Calcitonin gene-related peptide; Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide - genetics; Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide - metabolism; Calcium imaging; central nucleus of the amygdala; CGRP; Chemotherapy; conditioned taste aversion; Female; Food; Food poisoning; Gene expression; Learning; Male; Medical research; Memory; Memory - physiology; Mice; Mice, 129 Strain; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Knockout; Mice, Transgenic; Neurons; Neurons - chemistry; Neurons - metabolism; Parabrachial nucleus; Parabrachial Nucleus - chemistry; Parabrachial Nucleus - metabolism; Photic Stimulation - methods; Preferences; Rodents; Scholarships & fellowships; Software; Statistical analysis; Stria terminalis; Sucrose; Taste - physiology; Taste aversion; conditioned taste aversion; learning; central nucleus of the amygdala; CGRP; parabrachial nucleus; calcium imaging
• ISSN: 0896-6273; 1097-4199
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2018.09.032

Food aversions develop when the taste of a novel food is associated with sickness, which often occurs after food poisoning or chemotherapy treatment. We identified calcitonin-gene-related peptide (CGRP) neurons in the parabrachial nucleus (PBN) as sufficient and necessary for establishing a conditioned taste aversion (CTA). Photoactivating projections from CGRPPBN neurons to either the central nucleus of the amygdala or the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis can also induce robust CTA. CGRPPBN neurons undergo plasticity following CTA, and inactivation of either Arc or Grin1 (genes involved in memory consolidation) prevents establishment of a strong CTA. Calcium imaging reveals that the novel food re-activates CGRPPBN neurons after conditioning. Inhibition of these neurons or inactivation of the Grin1 gene after conditioning attenuates CTA expression. Our results indicate that CGRPPBN neurons not only play a key role for learning food aversions but also contribute to the maintenance and expression of those memories.
•Parabrachial CGRP neurons are critical for conditioned taste aversion (CTA) learning•After CTA learning, parabrachial CGRP neurons exhibit synaptic plasticity•Parabrachial CGRP neurons are re-activated during expression of CTA•Silencing or inhibiting CGRP neurons prevents expression of CTA
Conditioned taste aversion (CTA) develops when ingestion of a novel food is accompanied by gastrointestinal malaise. Chen et al. demonstrate that parabrachial CGRP neurons are not only necessary for learning CTA but are also active during expression of those memories.