Pub Date : 2020-06-11DOI: 10.1186/s12993-020-00168-4
Thiago C Moulin, Helgi B Schiöth
Glutamatergic AMPA and NMDA receptors in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) are central for cocaine first exposure and posterior craving maintenance. However, the exact rules that coordinate the synaptic dynamics of these receptors in dopaminergic VTA neurons and behavioral outcomes are poorly understood. Additionally, synaptic homeostatic plasticity is present in response to chronic excitability changes in neuronal circuits, adjusting the strength of synapses to stabilize the firing rate. Despite having correspondent mechanisms, little is known about the relationship between continuous cocaine exposure and homeostatic synaptic changes in the VTA neurons. Here, we assess the role of homeostatic mechanisms in the neurobiology of cocaine addiction by providing a brief overview of the parallels between cocaine-induced synaptic potentiation and long-term synaptic adaptations, focusing on the regulation of GluA1- and GluN1- containing receptors.
{"title":"Excitability, synaptic balance, and addiction: The homeostatic dynamics of ionotropic glutamatergic receptors in VTA after cocaine exposure.","authors":"Thiago C Moulin, Helgi B Schiöth","doi":"10.1186/s12993-020-00168-4","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12993-020-00168-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Glutamatergic AMPA and NMDA receptors in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) are central for cocaine first exposure and posterior craving maintenance. However, the exact rules that coordinate the synaptic dynamics of these receptors in dopaminergic VTA neurons and behavioral outcomes are poorly understood. Additionally, synaptic homeostatic plasticity is present in response to chronic excitability changes in neuronal circuits, adjusting the strength of synapses to stabilize the firing rate. Despite having correspondent mechanisms, little is known about the relationship between continuous cocaine exposure and homeostatic synaptic changes in the VTA neurons. Here, we assess the role of homeostatic mechanisms in the neurobiology of cocaine addiction by providing a brief overview of the parallels between cocaine-induced synaptic potentiation and long-term synaptic adaptations, focusing on the regulation of GluA1- and GluN1- containing receptors.</p>","PeriodicalId":8729,"journal":{"name":"Behavioral and Brain Functions","volume":"16 1","pages":"6"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2020-06-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7288406/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"38035132","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-04-27DOI: 10.1186/s12993-020-00167-5
Rola Farah, Paige Greenwood, Johnathan Dudley, John Hutton, Robert T Ammerman, Kieran Phelan, Scott Holland, Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus
Background: Maternal depression can influence the early activity of a mother reading stories to a young child, as depressed mothers are less likely to read to their children. Here, maternal depression association to neurobiological circuitry of narrative comprehension, visualization, and executive functions during stories listening was examined in 21 4-year-old girls and their mothers. Maternal depression scores were collected from the mothers, and functional MRI during stories listening was collected from the children.
Results: Increased maternal depression was related to decreased functional connectivity between visualization and auditory regions and increased connectivity between the right visual cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in the children.
Conclusions: This study highlights the need to monitor maternal depression and provide interventions to ensure positive linguistic outcomes in children.
{"title":"Maternal depression is associated with altered functional connectivity between neural circuits related to visual, auditory, and cognitive processing during stories listening in preschoolers.","authors":"Rola Farah, Paige Greenwood, Johnathan Dudley, John Hutton, Robert T Ammerman, Kieran Phelan, Scott Holland, Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus","doi":"10.1186/s12993-020-00167-5","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12993-020-00167-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Maternal depression can influence the early activity of a mother reading stories to a young child, as depressed mothers are less likely to read to their children. Here, maternal depression association to neurobiological circuitry of narrative comprehension, visualization, and executive functions during stories listening was examined in 21 4-year-old girls and their mothers. Maternal depression scores were collected from the mothers, and functional MRI during stories listening was collected from the children.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Increased maternal depression was related to decreased functional connectivity between visualization and auditory regions and increased connectivity between the right visual cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in the children.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study highlights the need to monitor maternal depression and provide interventions to ensure positive linguistic outcomes in children.</p>","PeriodicalId":8729,"journal":{"name":"Behavioral and Brain Functions","volume":"16 1","pages":"5"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2020-04-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7187503/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"37877088","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Background: Chemokine C-C motif ligand 2 (CCL2) is one of the most widely recognised proinflammatory chemokines in cognitive disorders. Currently, CCL2-targeting drugs are extremely limited. Thus, this study aimed to explore the neuroprotection afforded by naringin in CCL2-induced cognitive impairment in rats.
Methods: Before the CCL2 intra-hippocampal injection, rats were treated with naringin for 3 consecutive days via intraperitoneal injection. Two days post-surgery, the Morris water maze (MWM) and novel object recognition (NORT) tests were performed to detect spatial learning and memory and object cognition, respectively. Nissl staining and dUTP nick-end labelling (TUNEL) staining were performed to assess histopathological changes in the hippocampus. Commercial kits were used to measure the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and the content of malondialdehyde (MDA). Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed to examine the relative mRNA expression of interleukin 1β, (IL-1β), interleukin 6 (IL-6), glutamate/aspartate transporter (GLAST), glutamate transporter-1 (GLT-1), phosphate-activated glutaminase (PAG), cysteine aspartic acid-specific protease 8 (caspase-8), cysteine aspartic acid-specific protease 3 (caspase-3), cell lymphoma/leukaemia-2 (Bcl-2), and Bcl-2 associated X protein (Bax).
Results: In the MWM, the average escape latency and average swimming distance were significantly reduced and the crossing times were increased in the naringin-treated groups, compared with the CCL2 group. The NORT results revealed that, compared with the CCL2 rats, the discrimination index in the naringin-treated rats increased significantly. Nissl and TUNEL staining revealed that naringin protected the structure and survival of the neurons in the CA1 zone of the hippocampus. In the naringin-treated groups, the SOD and GSH-Px activities were increased, whereas the MDA levels were decreased. Furthermore, in the naringin-treated groups, the relative mRNA expression of IL-1β and IL-6 was significantly decreased; GLAST and GLT-1 mRNA expression levels were increased, whereas PAG was decreased. In the naringin-treated groups, the relative mRNA expression levels of caspase-8, caspase-3, and Bax were decreased, whereas that of Bcl-2 was increased.
Conclusion: Collectively, these data indicated that naringin alleviated the CCL2-induced cognitive impairment. The underlying mechanisms could be associated with the inhibition of neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and the regulation of glutamate metabolism.
{"title":"Naringin provides neuroprotection in CCL2-induced cognition impairment by attenuating neuronal apoptosis in the hippocampus.","authors":"Jiang-Yi Long, Jian-Min Chen, Yuan-Jun Liao, Yi-Jun Zhou, Bing-Yu Liang, Yan Zhou","doi":"10.1186/s12993-020-00166-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12993-020-00166-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Chemokine C-C motif ligand 2 (CCL2) is one of the most widely recognised proinflammatory chemokines in cognitive disorders. Currently, CCL2-targeting drugs are extremely limited. Thus, this study aimed to explore the neuroprotection afforded by naringin in CCL2-induced cognitive impairment in rats.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Before the CCL2 intra-hippocampal injection, rats were treated with naringin for 3 consecutive days via intraperitoneal injection. Two days post-surgery, the Morris water maze (MWM) and novel object recognition (NORT) tests were performed to detect spatial learning and memory and object cognition, respectively. Nissl staining and dUTP nick-end labelling (TUNEL) staining were performed to assess histopathological changes in the hippocampus. Commercial kits were used to measure the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and the content of malondialdehyde (MDA). Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed to examine the relative mRNA expression of interleukin 1β, (IL-1β), interleukin 6 (IL-6), glutamate/aspartate transporter (GLAST), glutamate transporter-1 (GLT-1), phosphate-activated glutaminase (PAG), cysteine aspartic acid-specific protease 8 (caspase-8), cysteine aspartic acid-specific protease 3 (caspase-3), cell lymphoma/leukaemia-2 (Bcl-2), and Bcl-2 associated X protein (Bax).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In the MWM, the average escape latency and average swimming distance were significantly reduced and the crossing times were increased in the naringin-treated groups, compared with the CCL2 group. The NORT results revealed that, compared with the CCL2 rats, the discrimination index in the naringin-treated rats increased significantly. Nissl and TUNEL staining revealed that naringin protected the structure and survival of the neurons in the CA1 zone of the hippocampus. In the naringin-treated groups, the SOD and GSH-Px activities were increased, whereas the MDA levels were decreased. Furthermore, in the naringin-treated groups, the relative mRNA expression of IL-1β and IL-6 was significantly decreased; GLAST and GLT-1 mRNA expression levels were increased, whereas PAG was decreased. In the naringin-treated groups, the relative mRNA expression levels of caspase-8, caspase-3, and Bax were decreased, whereas that of Bcl-2 was increased.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Collectively, these data indicated that naringin alleviated the CCL2-induced cognitive impairment. The underlying mechanisms could be associated with the inhibition of neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and the regulation of glutamate metabolism.</p>","PeriodicalId":8729,"journal":{"name":"Behavioral and Brain Functions","volume":"16 1","pages":"4"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2020-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1186/s12993-020-00166-6","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"37680832","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-02-03DOI: 10.1186/s12993-020-0165-z
Eunhye Choi, Suk-Ho Shin, Jeh-Kwang Ryu, Kyu-In Jung, Shin-Young Kim, Min-Hyeon Park
Background: Unlike the emphasis on negative results of video games such as the impulsive engagement in video games, cognitive training studies in individuals with cognitive deficits showed that characteristics of video game elements were helpful to train cognitive functions. Thus, this study aimed to have a more balanced view toward the video game playing by reviewing genres of commercial video games and the association of video games with cognitive functions and modulating factors. Literatures were searched with search terms (e.g. genres of video games, cognitive training) on database and Google scholar.
Results: video games, of which purpose is players' entertainment, were found to be positively associated with cognitive functions (e.g. attention, problem solving skills) despite some discrepancy between studies. However, the enhancement of cognitive functions through video gaming was limited to the task or performance requiring the same cognitive functions. Moreover, as several factors (e.g. age, gender) were identified to modulate cognitive enhancement, the individual difference in the association between video game playing and cognitive function was found.
Conclusion: Commercial video games are suggested to have the potential for cognitive function enhancement. As understanding the association between video gaming and cognitive function in a more balanced view is essential to evaluate the potential outcomes of commercial video games that more people reported to engage, this review contributes to provide more objective evidence for commercial video gaming.
{"title":"Commercial video games and cognitive functions: video game genres and modulating factors of cognitive enhancement.","authors":"Eunhye Choi, Suk-Ho Shin, Jeh-Kwang Ryu, Kyu-In Jung, Shin-Young Kim, Min-Hyeon Park","doi":"10.1186/s12993-020-0165-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12993-020-0165-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Unlike the emphasis on negative results of video games such as the impulsive engagement in video games, cognitive training studies in individuals with cognitive deficits showed that characteristics of video game elements were helpful to train cognitive functions. Thus, this study aimed to have a more balanced view toward the video game playing by reviewing genres of commercial video games and the association of video games with cognitive functions and modulating factors. Literatures were searched with search terms (e.g. genres of video games, cognitive training) on database and Google scholar.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>video games, of which purpose is players' entertainment, were found to be positively associated with cognitive functions (e.g. attention, problem solving skills) despite some discrepancy between studies. However, the enhancement of cognitive functions through video gaming was limited to the task or performance requiring the same cognitive functions. Moreover, as several factors (e.g. age, gender) were identified to modulate cognitive enhancement, the individual difference in the association between video game playing and cognitive function was found.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Commercial video games are suggested to have the potential for cognitive function enhancement. As understanding the association between video gaming and cognitive function in a more balanced view is essential to evaluate the potential outcomes of commercial video games that more people reported to engage, this review contributes to provide more objective evidence for commercial video gaming.</p>","PeriodicalId":8729,"journal":{"name":"Behavioral and Brain Functions","volume":"16 1","pages":"2"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2020-02-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1186/s12993-020-0165-z","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"37606465","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-01-04DOI: 10.1186/s12993-019-0164-0
Soonmi Won, Keebum Park, Hyoungsub Lim, Sung Joong Lee
Background: A sex-difference in susceptibility to chronic pain is well-known. Although recent studies have begun to reveal the sex-dependent mechanisms of nerve injury-induced pain sensitization, sex differences in the affective and cognitive brain dysfunctions associated with chronic pain have not been investigated. Therefore, we tested whether chronic pain leads to affective and cognitive disorders in a mouse neuropathic pain model and whether those disorders are sexually dimorphic.
Methods: Chronic neuropathic pain was induced in male and female mice by L5 spinal nerve transection (SNT) injury. Pain sensitivity was measured with the von Frey test. Affective behaviors such as depression and anxiety were assessed by the forced swim, tail suspension, and open field tests. Cognitive brain function was assessed with the Morris water maze and the novel object location and novel object recognition tests.
Results: Mechanical allodynia was induced and maintained for up to 8 weeks after SNT in both male and female mice. Depressive- and anxiety-like behaviors were observed 8 weeks post-SNT injury regardless of sex. Chronic pain-induced cognitive deficits measured with the Morris water maze and novel object location test were seen only in male mice, not in female mice.
Conclusions: Chronic neuropathic pain is accompanied by anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors in a mouse model regardless of sex, and male mice are more vulnerable than female mice to chronic pain-associated cognitive deficits.
{"title":"Sexual dimorphism in cognitive disorders in a murine model of neuropathic pain.","authors":"Soonmi Won, Keebum Park, Hyoungsub Lim, Sung Joong Lee","doi":"10.1186/s12993-019-0164-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12993-019-0164-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>A sex-difference in susceptibility to chronic pain is well-known. Although recent studies have begun to reveal the sex-dependent mechanisms of nerve injury-induced pain sensitization, sex differences in the affective and cognitive brain dysfunctions associated with chronic pain have not been investigated. Therefore, we tested whether chronic pain leads to affective and cognitive disorders in a mouse neuropathic pain model and whether those disorders are sexually dimorphic.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Chronic neuropathic pain was induced in male and female mice by L5 spinal nerve transection (SNT) injury. Pain sensitivity was measured with the von Frey test. Affective behaviors such as depression and anxiety were assessed by the forced swim, tail suspension, and open field tests. Cognitive brain function was assessed with the Morris water maze and the novel object location and novel object recognition tests.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Mechanical allodynia was induced and maintained for up to 8 weeks after SNT in both male and female mice. Depressive- and anxiety-like behaviors were observed 8 weeks post-SNT injury regardless of sex. Chronic pain-induced cognitive deficits measured with the Morris water maze and novel object location test were seen only in male mice, not in female mice.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Chronic neuropathic pain is accompanied by anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors in a mouse model regardless of sex, and male mice are more vulnerable than female mice to chronic pain-associated cognitive deficits.</p>","PeriodicalId":8729,"journal":{"name":"Behavioral and Brain Functions","volume":"16 1","pages":"1"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2020-01-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1186/s12993-019-0164-0","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"37511556","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-10-25DOI: 10.1186/s12993-019-0163-1
V. Chauhan, A. Chauhan
{"title":"Traumatic injury in female Drosophila melanogaster affects the development and induces behavioral abnormalities in the offspring","authors":"V. Chauhan, A. Chauhan","doi":"10.1186/s12993-019-0163-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12993-019-0163-1","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":8729,"journal":{"name":"Behavioral and Brain Functions","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2019-10-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74575218","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-08-13DOI: 10.3389/978-2-88945-584-3
{"title":"Course | School of Brain Cells & Circuits “Camillo Golgi”: From cell physiology to integrated signals and emerging brain functions","authors":"","doi":"10.3389/978-2-88945-584-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/978-2-88945-584-3","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":8729,"journal":{"name":"Behavioral and Brain Functions","volume":"30 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2019-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84693245","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-06-30DOI: 10.1186/s12993-019-0161-3
Jovana Maliković, Daniel Daba Feyissa, Predrag Kalaba, Babak Saber Marouf, Harald Höger, Michaela F Hartmann, Stefan A Wudy, Gerhard Schuler, Gert Lubec, Jana Aradska, Volker Korz
Background: Age-dependent alterations of hormonal states have been considered to be involved in age related decline of cognitive abilities. Most of the studies in animal models are based on hormonal substitution in adrenal- and/or gonadectomized rodents or infusion of steroid hormones in intact rats. Moreover, the manipulations have been done timely, closely related to test procedures, thus reflecting short-term hormonal mechanisms in the regulation of learning and memory. Here we studied whether more general states of steroid and thyroid hormone profiles, independent from acute experiences, may possibly reflect long-term learning capacity. A large cohort of aged (17-18 months) intact male rats were tested in a spatial hole-board learning task and a subset of inferior and superior learners was included into the analysis. Young male adult rats (16 weeks of age) were also tested. Four to 8 weeks after testing blood plasma samples were taken and hormone concentrations of a variety of steroid hormones were measured by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry or radioimmunoassay (17β-estradiol, thyroid hormones).
Results: Aged good learners were similar to young rats in the behavioral task. Aged poor learners but not good learners showed higher levels of triiodothyronine (T3) as compared to young rats. Aged good learners had higher levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) than aged poor learning and young rats. Both aged good and poor learners showed significantly reduced levels of testosterone (T), 4-androstenedione (4A), androstanediol-3α,17β (AD), dihydrotestosterone (DHT), 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17OHP), higher levels of progesterone (Prog) and similar levels of 17β-estradiol (E2) as compared to young rats. The learning, but not the memory indices of all rats were significantly and positively correlated with levels of dihydrotestosterone, androstanediol-3α,17β and thyroxine (T4), when the impacts of age and cognitive division were eliminated by partial correlation analyses.
Conclusion: The correlation of hormone concentrations of individuals with individual behavior revealed a possible specific role of these androgen and thyroid hormones in a state of general preparedness to learn.
{"title":"Age and cognitive status dependent differences in blood steroid and thyroid hormone concentrations in intact male rats.","authors":"Jovana Maliković, Daniel Daba Feyissa, Predrag Kalaba, Babak Saber Marouf, Harald Höger, Michaela F Hartmann, Stefan A Wudy, Gerhard Schuler, Gert Lubec, Jana Aradska, Volker Korz","doi":"10.1186/s12993-019-0161-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12993-019-0161-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Age-dependent alterations of hormonal states have been considered to be involved in age related decline of cognitive abilities. Most of the studies in animal models are based on hormonal substitution in adrenal- and/or gonadectomized rodents or infusion of steroid hormones in intact rats. Moreover, the manipulations have been done timely, closely related to test procedures, thus reflecting short-term hormonal mechanisms in the regulation of learning and memory. Here we studied whether more general states of steroid and thyroid hormone profiles, independent from acute experiences, may possibly reflect long-term learning capacity. A large cohort of aged (17-18 months) intact male rats were tested in a spatial hole-board learning task and a subset of inferior and superior learners was included into the analysis. Young male adult rats (16 weeks of age) were also tested. Four to 8 weeks after testing blood plasma samples were taken and hormone concentrations of a variety of steroid hormones were measured by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry or radioimmunoassay (17β-estradiol, thyroid hormones).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Aged good learners were similar to young rats in the behavioral task. Aged poor learners but not good learners showed higher levels of triiodothyronine (T3) as compared to young rats. Aged good learners had higher levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) than aged poor learning and young rats. Both aged good and poor learners showed significantly reduced levels of testosterone (T), 4-androstenedione (4A), androstanediol-3α,17β (AD), dihydrotestosterone (DHT), 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17OHP), higher levels of progesterone (Prog) and similar levels of 17β-estradiol (E2) as compared to young rats. The learning, but not the memory indices of all rats were significantly and positively correlated with levels of dihydrotestosterone, androstanediol-3α,17β and thyroxine (T4), when the impacts of age and cognitive division were eliminated by partial correlation analyses.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The correlation of hormone concentrations of individuals with individual behavior revealed a possible specific role of these androgen and thyroid hormones in a state of general preparedness to learn.</p>","PeriodicalId":8729,"journal":{"name":"Behavioral and Brain Functions","volume":"15 1","pages":"10"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2019-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1186/s12993-019-0161-3","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"37375864","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Background: Bisphenol A (BPA), a major endocrine disruptor and a xenobiotic compound is used abundantly in the production of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. Human exposure to this compound is primarily via its leaching from the protective internal epoxy resin coatings of containers into the food and beverages. In addition, the plastics used in dental prostheses and sealants also contain considerable amount of BPA and have a high risk of human exposure. Since it is a well-known endocrine disruptor and closely mimics the molecular structure of human estrogen thereby impairing learning and memory. Withania somnifera (Ws), commonly known as Ashwagandha is known for its varied therapeutic uses in Ayurvedic system of medicine. The present study was undertaken to demonstrate the impairment induced by BPA on the spatial learning, working memory and its alleviation by Ws in Swiss albino mice. The study was conducted on thirty Swiss albino mice, randomly distributed among three groups: control, BPA and BPA + Ws. The behavioral recovery after treatment with Ws was investigated using the Y-maize and Morris water maize test. Whereas, for the estimation of recovery of NMDA receptor which is related to learning and memory in hippocampus region by western blot and immunohistochemistry. Furthermore, the oxidative stress and antioxidant level was assessed by biochemical tests like MDA, SOD and catalase.
Results: The study revealed that administration of Ws alleviated the behavioral deficits induced by BPA. Alongside, Ws treatment reinstated the number of NMDA receptors in hippocampus region and showed anti-oxidative property while ameliorating the endogenous anti-oxidant level in the brain.
Conclusion: These findings suggest that Ws significantly ameliorates the level of BPA intoxicated oxidative stress thereby potentially treating cognitive dysfunction which acts as the primary symptom in a number of neurodegenerative diseases.
背景:双酚 A(BPA)是一种主要的内分泌干扰物和异生物化合物,被大量用于聚碳酸酯塑料和环氧树脂的生产。人类接触这种化合物的主要途径是从容器内部环氧树脂保护涂层中渗入食品和饮料中。此外,义齿和密封剂中使用的塑料也含有大量双酚 A,人体接触的风险很高。由于双酚 A 是一种众所周知的内分泌干扰物,与人体雌激素的分子结构相似,因此会影响学习和记忆。Withania somnifera(Ws),俗称 Ashwagandha,因其在阿育吠陀医学体系中的多种治疗用途而闻名。本研究旨在证明双酚 A 对瑞士白化小鼠空间学习和工作记忆的影响,以及 Ws 对这种影响的缓解作用。研究对象是 30 只瑞士白化小鼠,随机分为三组:对照组、双酚 A 组和双酚 A + Ws 组。使用 Ws 治疗后,小鼠的行为恢复情况通过 Y-玉米试验和莫里斯水玉米试验进行了调查。此外,还通过 Western 印迹和免疫组化技术评估了海马区与学习和记忆有关的 NMDA 受体的恢复情况。此外,还通过 MDA、SOD 和过氧化氢酶等生化测试评估了氧化应激和抗氧化水平:研究结果表明,服用 Ws 可减轻双酚 A 引起的行为缺陷。此外,Ws 还能恢复海马区 NMDA 受体的数量,并显示出抗氧化特性,同时改善大脑中的内源性抗氧化剂水平:这些研究结果表明,Ws 能明显改善双酚 A 中毒的氧化应激水平,从而有可能治疗作为多种神经退行性疾病主要症状的认知功能障碍。
{"title":"Neuroprotective effects of Withania somnifera in BPA induced-cognitive dysfunction and oxidative stress in mice.","authors":"Hareram Birla, Chetan Keswani, Sachchida Nand Rai, Saumitra Sen Singh, Walia Zahra, Hagera Dilnashin, Aaina Singh Rathore, Surya Pratap Singh","doi":"10.1186/s12993-019-0160-4","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12993-019-0160-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Bisphenol A (BPA), a major endocrine disruptor and a xenobiotic compound is used abundantly in the production of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. Human exposure to this compound is primarily via its leaching from the protective internal epoxy resin coatings of containers into the food and beverages. In addition, the plastics used in dental prostheses and sealants also contain considerable amount of BPA and have a high risk of human exposure. Since it is a well-known endocrine disruptor and closely mimics the molecular structure of human estrogen thereby impairing learning and memory. Withania somnifera (Ws), commonly known as Ashwagandha is known for its varied therapeutic uses in Ayurvedic system of medicine. The present study was undertaken to demonstrate the impairment induced by BPA on the spatial learning, working memory and its alleviation by Ws in Swiss albino mice. The study was conducted on thirty Swiss albino mice, randomly distributed among three groups: control, BPA and BPA + Ws. The behavioral recovery after treatment with Ws was investigated using the Y-maize and Morris water maize test. Whereas, for the estimation of recovery of NMDA receptor which is related to learning and memory in hippocampus region by western blot and immunohistochemistry. Furthermore, the oxidative stress and antioxidant level was assessed by biochemical tests like MDA, SOD and catalase.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The study revealed that administration of Ws alleviated the behavioral deficits induced by BPA. Alongside, Ws treatment reinstated the number of NMDA receptors in hippocampus region and showed anti-oxidative property while ameliorating the endogenous anti-oxidant level in the brain.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>These findings suggest that Ws significantly ameliorates the level of BPA intoxicated oxidative stress thereby potentially treating cognitive dysfunction which acts as the primary symptom in a number of neurodegenerative diseases.</p>","PeriodicalId":8729,"journal":{"name":"Behavioral and Brain Functions","volume":"15 1","pages":"9"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2019-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6503545/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"37217971","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-04-16DOI: 10.1186/s12993-019-0158-y
Sayako Ueda, Hiroyuki Sakai, Kenichi Ueno, Kang Cheng, Takatsune Kumada
Background: Dexterous tool use is considered to be underpinned by model-based control relying on acquired internal models of tools. In particular, this is the case in situations where available sensory feedback regarding the consequences of tool use is restricted. In the present study, we conducted an fMRI study to identify cerebellar involvement in model-based estimation of tool-use consequences using tracking tasks with different levels of visual feedback.
Methods: Twenty healthy right-handed adults participated in this study. These participants tracked a moving target on a screen with a cursor controlled by a joystick using their right hand during fMRI scanning. For each trial, the level of visual feedback for cursor position was randomly selected from three task conditions, namely, Precise, Obscure, and No conditions.
Results: A conjunction analysis across all task conditions found extensive activation of the right cerebellum, covering the anterior lobe (lobule V) and inferior posterior lobe (lobule VIII). Also, contrasts among the three task conditions revealed additional significant activation of the left superior posterior lobe (Crus I) in the No compared to the Precise condition. Furthermore, a post hoc psychophysiological interaction analysis revealed conditional modulation of functional coupling between the right, but not the left, cerebellar region and right frontoparietal regions that are involved in self-body perception.
Conclusions: Our data show that the left Crus I is the only region that was more active in a condition where no visual feedback for cursor position was available. This suggests that the left Crus I region plays a role in model-based estimation of tool-use consequences based on an acquired internal model of tools.
{"title":"Cerebellar activation associated with model-based estimation of tool-use consequences.","authors":"Sayako Ueda, Hiroyuki Sakai, Kenichi Ueno, Kang Cheng, Takatsune Kumada","doi":"10.1186/s12993-019-0158-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12993-019-0158-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Dexterous tool use is considered to be underpinned by model-based control relying on acquired internal models of tools. In particular, this is the case in situations where available sensory feedback regarding the consequences of tool use is restricted. In the present study, we conducted an fMRI study to identify cerebellar involvement in model-based estimation of tool-use consequences using tracking tasks with different levels of visual feedback.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Twenty healthy right-handed adults participated in this study. These participants tracked a moving target on a screen with a cursor controlled by a joystick using their right hand during fMRI scanning. For each trial, the level of visual feedback for cursor position was randomly selected from three task conditions, namely, Precise, Obscure, and No conditions.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A conjunction analysis across all task conditions found extensive activation of the right cerebellum, covering the anterior lobe (lobule V) and inferior posterior lobe (lobule VIII). Also, contrasts among the three task conditions revealed additional significant activation of the left superior posterior lobe (Crus I) in the No compared to the Precise condition. Furthermore, a post hoc psychophysiological interaction analysis revealed conditional modulation of functional coupling between the right, but not the left, cerebellar region and right frontoparietal regions that are involved in self-body perception.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our data show that the left Crus I is the only region that was more active in a condition where no visual feedback for cursor position was available. This suggests that the left Crus I region plays a role in model-based estimation of tool-use consequences based on an acquired internal model of tools.</p>","PeriodicalId":8729,"journal":{"name":"Behavioral and Brain Functions","volume":"15 1","pages":"8"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2019-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1186/s12993-019-0158-y","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"37160627","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}