A Neural Circuit For Bergamot Essential Oil-Induced Anxiolytic Effects

  • Adv Sci (Weinh). 2025 Jan;12(1):e2406766. doi: 10.1002/advs.202406766.
Meng-Yu Zhu  1  2 ,  Wan-Ying Dong  3 ,  Jin-Rong Guo  2 ,  Ji-Ye Huang  3 ,  Ping-Kai Cheng  3 ,  Yumeng Yang  1  2 ,  An Liu  1  2 ,  Xin-Lu Yang  3 ,  Xia Zhu  3 ,  Zhi Zhang  2  3  4 ,  Yuanyin Wang  1 ,  Wenjuan Tao  1  2
Affiliations
  • 1. College & Hospital of Stomatology, Anhui Medical University, Key Lab of Oral Diseases Research of Anhui Province, Hefei, 230032, China.
  • 2. Department of Physiology, Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory for Brain Bank Construction and Resource Utilization, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230032, China.
  • 3. Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China.
  • 4. Center for Advanced Interdisciplinary Science and Biomedicine, Institute of Health and Medicine, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China.
PMID: 39487959 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202406766
Abstract

Aromatic essential oils have been shown to relieve anxiety and enhance relaxation, although the neural circuits underlying these effects have remained unknown. Here, it is found that treatment with 1.0% bergamot essential oil (BEO) exerts anxiolytic-like effects through a neural circuit projecting from the anterior olfactory nucleus (AON) to the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in acute restraint stress model mice. Collectively, in vivo two-photon calcium imaging, viral tracing, and whole-cell patch clamp recordings show that inhalation exposure to 1.0% BEO can activate glutamatergic projections from the AON to GABAergic neurons in the ACC, which drives inhibition of local glutamatergic neurons (AONGlu→ACCGABA→Glu). Optogenetic or chemogenetic manipulation of this pathway can recapitulate or abolish the BEO-induced anxiolytic-like behavioral effects in mice with ARS. Beyond depicting a previously unrecognized pathway involved in stress response, this study provides a circuit mechanism for the effects of BEO and suggests a potential target for anxiety treatment.

Keywords
anxiolytic effects; bergamot essential oil; chemogenetic manipulations; neural circuits; optogenetic manipulations.
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