Dual anterior insula-prefrontal cortex circuits mediate chronic stress-induced social interaction deficits - PubMed
3 hours ago
- #stress
- #neural-circuits
- #social-behavior
- Chronic emotional stress impairs social behavior, with two subpopulations in the anterior insula playing distinct roles.
- Dorsal insula neurons (AIDCaMKIIα) target the frontal association cortex and encode social fear, driving avoidance when hyperactivated.
- Ventral insula neurons (AIVCaMKIIα) target the prelimbic cortex and encode social novelty preference, with hypoactivity causing deficits.
- Mechanisms involve increased inhibition from parvalbumin interneurons and reduced oxytocin receptor signaling in prelimbic GABAergic interneurons.
- Restoring ventral insula activity or enhancing oxytocin signaling can rescue social novelty preference, suggesting circuit-specific treatment targets.