Paraventricular Thalamus Neurons Encode Early-life Stress and Execute Consequent Sex-specific Disruptions of Adult Reward Behaviors
6 affiliations
- 1Department of Anatomy/Neurobiology
- 2Department of Pediatrics
- 3Department of Anatomy/Neurobiology ,
- 4School of Biological Sciences
- 5Department of Biology, Howard University, Washington D.C., USA
- 6Department of Neurology — University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
Abstract
While links between early-life adversity (ELA) and mental illnesses characterized by dysregulated reward behaviors are well-established, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In mice, ELA reduces hedonic consumption and interest in sex reward in adult males and, in contrast, augments reward consumption in females. Here, using genetic tagging (TRAPing) we found robust, sex-specific activation of thalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVT) neurons during ELA. Manipulating these neurons in adults normalized reward behaviors: Blocking TRAPed anterior PVT neurons restored hedonic consumption in ELA males and augmented hedonic consumption in control females. In contrast, activation of these neurons reduced consumption in control males and ELA females. For posterior PVT, blocking TRAPed cells attenuated excessive reward consumption in ELA females and reduced it in control males. Thus, PVT is key for adaptive brain plasticity; anterior and posterior PVT carry different functions and contribute to the effects of ELA on adult reward behaviors in a sex-dependent manner.
Related
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BibTeX
@article{kooiker2026paraventricular,
title = {{Paraventricular Thalamus Neurons Encode Early-life Stress and Execute Consequent Sex-specific Disruptions of Adult Reward Behaviors}},
author = {Cassandra L. Kooiker and Mason Hardy and Matthew T. Birnie and Yuncai Chen and Gregory de Carvalho and Amalia Floriou‐Servou and Qinxin Ding and Neeraj Thiagarajan and Madison R. Tetzlaff and Asia Smith and Isabelle T. Yoon and Yahir A. Aranda and Lulu Y. Chen and Tallie Z. Baram},
journal = {Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.bpsgos.2026.100840},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsgos.2026.100840},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Paraventricular Thalamus Neurons Encode Early-life Stress and Execute Consequent Sex-specific Disruptions of Adult Reward Behaviors
AU - Cassandra L. Kooiker
AU - Mason Hardy
AU - Matthew T. Birnie
AU - Yuncai Chen
AU - Gregory de Carvalho
AU - Amalia Floriou‐Servou
AU - Qinxin Ding
AU - Neeraj Thiagarajan
AU - Madison R. Tetzlaff
AU - Asia Smith
AU - Isabelle T. Yoon
AU - Yahir A. Aranda
AU - Lulu Y. Chen
AU - Tallie Z. Baram
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science
DO - 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2026.100840
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsgos.2026.100840
AB - While links between early-life adversity (ELA) and mental illnesses characterized by dysregulated reward behaviors are well-established, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In mice, ELA reduces hedonic consumption and interest in sex reward in adult males and, in contrast, augments reward consumption in females. Here, using genetic tagging (TRAPing) we found robust, sex-specific activation of thalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVT) neurons during ELA. Manipulating these neurons in adults normalized reward behaviors: Blocking TRAPed anterior PVT neurons restored hedonic consumption in ELA males and augmented hedonic consumption in control females. In contrast, activation of these neurons reduced consumption in control males and ELA females. For posterior PVT, blocking TRAPed cells attenuated excessive reward consumption in ELA females and reduced it in control males. Thus, PVT is key for adaptive brain plasticity; anterior and posterior PVT carry different functions and contribute to the effects of ELA on adult reward behaviors in a sex-dependent manner.
SN - 2667-1743
ER -