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1.
J Neurosci ; 42(4): 670-681, 2022 01 26.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34862190

RESUMEN

To competently navigate the world, individuals must flexibly balance distinct aspects of social gaze, orienting toward others and inhibiting orienting responses, depending on the context. These behaviors are often disrupted amongst patient populations treated with serotonergic drugs. However, those in the field lack a clear understanding of how the serotonergic system mediates social orienting and inhibiting behaviors. Here, we tested how increasing central concentrations of serotonin with the direct precursor 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) would modulate the ability of rhesus macaques (both sexes) to use eye movements to flexibly orient to, or inhibit orienting to, faces. Systemic administrations of 5-HTP effectively increased central serotonin levels and impaired flexible orientation and inhibition. Critically, 5-HTP selectively impaired the ability of monkeys to inhibit orienting to face images, whereas it similarly impaired orienting to face and control images. 5-HTP also caused monkeys to perseverate on their gaze responses, making them worse at flexibly switching between orienting and inhibiting behaviors. Furthermore, the effects of 5-HTP on performance correlated with a constriction of the pupil, an increased time to initiate trials, and an increased reaction time, suggesting that the disruptive effects of 5-HTP on social gaze behaviors are likely driven by a downregulation of arousal and motivational states. Together, these findings provide causal evidence for a modulatory relationship between 5-HTP and social gaze behaviors in nonhuman primates and offer translational insights for the role of the serotonergic system in social gaze.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Behavioral changes arising from pharmacological agents that target serotonergic functions are complex and difficult to predict. Here, we examined the causal impacts of administering the direct precursor of serotonin, 5-HTP, on orienting and inhibiting social gaze in nonhuman primates. 5-HTP increased central concentrations of serotonin and selectively impaired the ability of monkeys to inhibit orienting to faces while similarly impairing the ability of monkeys to orient to face and control images. These behavioral gaze impairments were systematically associated with a downregulation of arousal and motivational states, indexed by pupil constriction, increased time to initiate trials, and increased reaction time. These findings provide a causal link between 5-HTP and social gaze behaviors in nonhuman primates and provide translational insights about serotonergic interventions.


Asunto(s)
5-Hidroxitriptófano/administración & dosificación , 5-Hidroxitriptófano/líquido cefalorraquídeo , Fijación Ocular/efectos de los fármacos , Orientación/efectos de los fármacos , Serotonina/líquido cefalorraquídeo , Interacción Social/efectos de los fármacos , Animales , Femenino , Fijación Ocular/fisiología , Inyecciones Intramusculares , Macaca mulatta , Masculino , Orientación/fisiología , Estimulación Luminosa/métodos , Primates
2.
J Neurosci ; 42(4): 619-630, 2022 01 26.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34872926

RESUMEN

The superior colliculus (SC) is the midbrain center for integrating visual and multimodal sensory information. Neurons in the SC exhibit direction and orientation selectivity. Recent studies reported that neurons with similar preferences formed clusters in the mouse SC (Ahmadlou and Heimel, 2015; Feinberg and Meister, 2015; de Malmazet et al., 2018; Li et al., 2020). However, it remains controversial as to how these clusters are organized within the SC (Inayat et al., 2015; Chen et al., 2021). Here, we found that different brain states (i.e., awake or anesthetized with isoflurane) changed the selectivity of individual SC neurons and organizations of the neuronal population in both male and female mice. Using two-photon Ca2+ imaging, we examined both individual neuronal responses and the spatial patterns of their population responses. Under isoflurane anesthesia, orientation selectivity increased and a larger number of orientation-selective cells were observed when compared with the awake condition, whereas the proportions of direction-selective cells were similar in both conditions. Furthermore, direction- and orientation-selective cells located at closer positions showed more similar preferences, and cluster-like spatial patterns were enhanced. Inhibitory responses of direction-selective neurons were also reduced under isoflurane anesthesia. Thus, the changes in the spatial organization of response patterns were considered to be because of changes in the balance of excitation and inhibition, with excitation dominance, in the local circuits. These results provide new insights into the possibility that the functional organization of feature selectivity in the brain is affected by brain state.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Recent large-scale recording studies are changing our view of visual maps in the superior colliculus (SC), including findings of cluster-like localizations of direction- and orientation-selective neurons. However, results from several laboratories are conflicting regarding the presence of cluster-like organization. Here, we demonstrated that light isoflurane anesthesia affected the direction- and orientation-tuning properties in the mouse superficial SC and that their cluster-like localization pattern was enhanced by the anesthesia. Furthermore, the effect of anesthesia on direction selectivity appeared to be different in the excitatory and inhibitory populations in the SC. Our results suggest that the functional organization of direction and orientation selectivity might be regulated by the excitation-inhibition balance that depends on the brain state.


Asunto(s)
Anestésicos por Inhalación/administración & dosificación , Isoflurano/administración & dosificación , Orientación/efectos de los fármacos , Orientación/fisiología , Colículos Superiores/efectos de los fármacos , Colículos Superiores/fisiología , Animales , Proteínas de Unión al Calcio/análisis , Femenino , Proteínas Fluorescentes Verdes/análisis , Masculino , Ratones , Ratones Endogámicos C57BL , Ratones Transgénicos , Microscopía de Fluorescencia por Excitación Multifotónica/métodos , Estimulación Luminosa/métodos , Colículos Superiores/química
3.
Neuropharmacology ; 197: 108754, 2021 10 01.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34389398

RESUMEN

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a profoundly debilitating neurodegenerative disorder characterized most notably by progressive cognitive decline, but also agitation and behavioral disturbances that are extremely disruptive to patient and caregiver. Current pharmacological treatments for these symptoms have limited efficacy and significant side effects. We have recently reported the discovery of Compound 24, an M4 positive allosteric modulator (PAM) that is potent, highly selective, and devoid of cholinergic-like side effects in rats. In order to further evaluate the translatability of the effects of compound 24 in primates, here we describe the effect of Compound 24 on three behavioral and cognition assays in rhesus monkeys, the stimulant induced motor activity (SIMA) assay, the object retrieval detour task (ORD), and the visuo-spatial paired-associates learning (vsPAL) task. As far as we know, this is the first such characterization of an M4 PAM in non-human primate. Compound 24 and the clinical standard olanzapine attenuated amphetamine induced hyperactivity to a similar degree. In addition, Compound 24 demonstrated procognitive effects in scopolamine-impaired ORD and vsPAL, and these effects were of similar magnitude to donepezil. These findings suggest that M4 PAMs may be beneficial to diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia, which are marked by behavioral disturbances as well as deficits in cognitive function.


Asunto(s)
Enfermedad de Alzheimer/tratamiento farmacológico , Enfermedad de Alzheimer/psicología , Conducta Animal/efectos de los fármacos , Colinérgicos/farmacología , Trastornos del Conocimiento/tratamiento farmacológico , Receptor Muscarínico M4/efectos de los fármacos , Esquizofrenia/tratamiento farmacológico , Psicología del Esquizofrénico , Anfetamina/antagonistas & inhibidores , Anfetamina/farmacología , Animales , Aprendizaje por Asociación/efectos de los fármacos , Estimulantes del Sistema Nervioso Central , Colinérgicos/farmacocinética , Trastornos del Conocimiento/psicología , Hipercinesia/inducido químicamente , Hipercinesia/prevención & control , Macaca mulatta , Masculino , Actividad Motora/efectos de los fármacos , Olanzapina/farmacología , Orientación/efectos de los fármacos
4.
Psychopharmacology (Berl) ; 237(3): 869-876, 2020 Mar.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-31844937

RESUMEN

BACKGROUND: Gaze direction is an important cue of the eye region. Previous studies have revealed that oxytocin (OXT) increases orienting to the eye region of face. However, little has been known about the effect of OXT in men and women on the perception of gaze direction particularly when associated with different emotions. OBJECTIVES: We investigated how oxytocin would affect gaze direction judgments for threatening, angry, and neutral facial expressions and whether this effect would be modulated by observers' sex. METHODS: We used the cone of direct gaze (CoDG) task. Participants were required to judge the gaze direction of face between directed and averted gaze. RESULTS: Results showed opposing sex-dependent effects of OXT such that OXT, as compared with placebo, tended to decrease the CoDG in men but increase it in women. The CoDG was marginally wider in men than in women in the placebo condition, and however, this difference was abolished following OXT treatment. We also found that the perception of gaze direction varied as a function of emotional expression such that the CoDG for angry and neutral faces was wider than that for fearful faces and the CoDG for angry faces was marginally wider than that for neutral ones. However, there was no significant interaction between treatment and facial expression. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide the first evidence for sex-dependent effects of OXT on gaze direction perception, suggesting that OXT attenuates the self-referential judgment of gaze directions of others in men and enhances it in women despite differentiated emotions of faces.


Asunto(s)
Expresión Facial , Fijación Ocular/efectos de los fármacos , Oxitocina/farmacología , Estimulación Luminosa/métodos , Caracteres Sexuales , Percepción Visual/efectos de los fármacos , Adolescente , Adulto , Afecto/efectos de los fármacos , Afecto/fisiología , Estudios Cruzados , Método Doble Ciego , Emociones/efectos de los fármacos , Emociones/fisiología , Femenino , Fijación Ocular/fisiología , Humanos , Juicio/efectos de los fármacos , Juicio/fisiología , Masculino , Orientación/efectos de los fármacos , Orientación/fisiología , Percepción Visual/fisiología , Adulto Joven
5.
J R Soc Interface ; 15(145)2018 08.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-30089685

RESUMEN

Even though previously described iron-containing structures in the upper beak of pigeons were almost certainly macrophages, not magnetosensitive neurons, behavioural and neurobiological evidence still supports the involvement of the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve (V1) in magnetoreception. In previous behavioural studies, inactivation of putative V1-associated magnetoreceptors involved either application of the surface anaesthetic lidocaine to the upper beak or sectioning of V1. Here, we compared the effects of lidocaine treatment, V1 ablations and sham ablations on magnetic field-driven neuronal activation in V1-recipient brain regions in European robins. V1 sectioning led to significantly fewer Egr-1-expressing neurons in the trigeminal brainstem than in the sham-ablated birds, whereas lidocaine treatment had no effect on neuronal activation. Furthermore, Prussian blue staining showed that nearly all iron-containing cells in the subepidermal layer of the upper beak are nucleated and are thus not part of the trigeminal nerve, and iron-containing cells appeared in highly variable numbers at inconsistent locations between individual robins and showed no systematic colocalization with a neuronal marker. Our data suggest that lidocaine treatment has been a nocebo to the birds and a placebo for the experimenters. Currently, the nature and location of any V1-associated magnetosensor remains elusive.


Asunto(s)
Tronco Encefálico , Lidocaína/farmacología , Campos Magnéticos , Orientación/efectos de los fármacos , Pájaros Cantores/fisiología , Nervio Trigémino/fisiología , Animales , Pico/anatomía & histología , Pico/fisiología , Tronco Encefálico/citología , Tronco Encefálico/fisiología , Efecto Nocebo , Pájaros Cantores/anatomía & histología , Nervio Trigémino/citología
6.
Brain Dev ; 40(3): 172-180, 2018 Mar.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-29395660

RESUMEN

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to develop and introduce new method to quantify motor functions of the upper extremity. METHODS: The movement was recorded using a three-dimensional motion capture system, and the movement trajectory was analyzed using newly developed two indices, which measure precise repeatability and directional smoothness. Our target task was shoulder flexion repeated ten times. We applied our method to a healthy adult without and with a weight, simulating muscle impairment. We also applied our method to assess the efficacy of a drug therapy for amelioration of motor functions in a non-ambulatory patient with spinal muscular atrophy. Movement trajectories before and after thyrotropin-releasing hormone therapy were analyzed. RESULTS: In the healthy adult, we found the values of both indices increased significantly when holding a weight so that the weight-induced deterioration in motor function was successfully detected. From the efficacy assessment of drug therapy in the patient, the directional smoothness index successfully detected improvements in motor function, which were also clinically observed by the patient's doctors. CONCLUSION: We have developed a new quantitative evaluation method of motor functions of the upper extremity. Clinical usability of this method is also greatly enhanced by reducing the required number of body-attached markers to only one. This simple but universal approach to quantify motor functions will provide additional insights into the clinical phenotypes of various neuromuscular diseases and developmental disorders.


Asunto(s)
Movimiento/fisiología , Evaluación de Resultado en la Atención de Salud/métodos , Desempeño Psicomotor/fisiología , Atrofias Musculares Espinales de la Infancia/fisiopatología , Extremidad Superior/fisiopatología , Adulto , Preescolar , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Movimiento/efectos de los fármacos , Orientación/efectos de los fármacos , Orientación/fisiología , Desempeño Psicomotor/efectos de los fármacos , Atrofias Musculares Espinales de la Infancia/diagnóstico , Atrofias Musculares Espinales de la Infancia/tratamiento farmacológico , Hormona Liberadora de Tirotropina/uso terapéutico , Resultado del Tratamiento , Soporte de Peso/fisiología
7.
PLoS One ; 13(2): e0193075, 2018.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-29466416

RESUMEN

Chemotherapy in childhood can result in long-term neurophysiological side-effects, which could extend to visual processing, specifically the degree to which a person relies on vision to determine vertical and horizontal (visual dependency). We investigated whether adults treated with chemotherapy in childhood experience elevated visual dependency compared to controls and whether any difference is associated with the age at which subjects were treated. Visual dependency was measured in 23 subjects (mean age 25.3 years) treated in childhood with chemotherapy (CTS) for malignant, solid, non-CNS tumors. We also stratified CTS into two groups: those treated before 12 years of age and those treated from 12 years of age and older. Results were compared to 25 healthy, age-matched controls. The subjective visual horizontal (SVH) and vertical (SVV) orientations was recorded by having subjects position an illuminated rod to their perceived horizontal and vertical with and without a surrounding frame tilted clockwise and counter-clockwise 20° from vertical. There was no significant difference in rod accuracy between any CTS groups and controls without a frame. However, when assessing visual dependency using a frame, CTS in general (p = 0.006) and especially CTS treated before 12 years of age (p = 0.001) tilted the rod significantly further in the direction of the frame compared to controls. Our findings suggest that chemotherapy treatment before 12 years of age is associated with elevated visual dependency compared to controls, implying a visual bias during spatial activities. Clinicians should be aware of symptoms such as visual vertigo in adults treated with chemotherapy in childhood.


Asunto(s)
Neoplasias , Orientación/efectos de los fármacos , Trastornos de la Visión , Adulto , Niño , Preescolar , Femenino , Estudios de Seguimiento , Humanos , Lactante , Masculino , Neoplasias/tratamiento farmacológico , Neoplasias/fisiopatología , Trastornos de la Visión/inducido químicamente , Trastornos de la Visión/fisiopatología , Adulto Joven
8.
Behav Brain Res ; 343: 1-7, 2018 05 02.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-29407411

RESUMEN

Distractibility can be defined as an attention deficit where orientation toward irrelevant targets cannot be inhibited. There is now mounting evidence that the superior colliculus is a key neural correlate of distractibility, with increased collicular-activity resulting in heightened distractibility. Heightened distractibility is reduced by amphetamine, which acutely suppresses collicular responsiveness. However, when amphetamine is used to treat distractibility, it is given chronically, yet no data exist on whether chronic amphetamine treatment affects the colliculus. Here, the effect of chronic amphetamine treatment was assessed in healthy hooded lister rats on two collicular dependent behaviours following a twenty-eight day treatment period: i) orienting to visual stimuli, and ii) height-dependent modulation of air-righting. We found no significant impact of amphetamine treatment on visual orienting despite showing dose-dependent decreases in orienting to repeated stimuli. However, we did find that treatment with amphetamine significantly reduced the ability to modulate righting according to the height the animal is dropped from - a function known to be dependent on the colliculus. We suggest that the results are in line with previous research showing acute amphetamine suppresses collicular activity and we speculate that the psychostimulant may increase receptive field size, altering time-to-impact calculations carried out by the colliculus during air-righting.


Asunto(s)
Trastornos Relacionados con Anfetaminas/fisiopatología , Anfetamina/toxicidad , Estimulantes del Sistema Nervioso Central/toxicidad , Orientación/efectos de los fármacos , Techo del Mesencéfalo/efectos de los fármacos , Percepción Visual/efectos de los fármacos , Animales , Atención/efectos de los fármacos , Atención/fisiología , Masculino , Orientación/fisiología , Ratas , Reflejo de Enderezamiento/efectos de los fármacos , Reflejo de Enderezamiento/fisiología , Método Simple Ciego , Techo del Mesencéfalo/fisiopatología , Percepción Visual/fisiología
9.
Nicotine Tob Res ; 20(7): 897-902, 2018 06 07.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-29059450

RESUMEN

Introduction: Prenatal nicotine exposure (PNE) from maternal cigarette smoking is linked to developmental deficits, including impaired auditory processing, language, generalized intelligence, attention, and sleep. Fetal brain undergoes massive growth, organization, and connectivity during gestation, making it particularly vulnerable to neurotoxic insult. Nicotine binds to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, which are extensively involved in growth, connectivity, and function of developing neural circuitry and neurotransmitter systems. Thus, PNE may have long-term impact on neurobehavioral development. The purpose of this study was to compare the auditory K-complex, an event-related potential reflective of auditory gating, sleep preservation and memory consolidation during sleep, in infants with and without PNE and to relate these neural correlates to neurobehavioral development. Methods: We compared brain responses to an auditory paired-click paradigm in 3- to 5-month-old infants during Stage 2 sleep, when the K-complex is best observed. We measured component amplitude and delta activity during the K-complex. Results: Infants with PNE demonstrated significantly smaller amplitude of the N550 component and reduced delta-band power within elicited K-complexes compared to nonexposed infants and also were less likely to orient with a head turn to a novel auditory stimulus (bell ring) when awake. Conclusions: PNE may impair auditory sensory gating, which may contribute to disrupted sleep and to reduced auditory discrimination and learning, attention re-orienting, and/or arousal during wakefulness reported in other studies. Implications: Links between PNE and reduced K-complex amplitude and delta power may represent altered cholinergic and GABAergic synaptic programming and possibly reflect early neural bases for PNE-linked disruptions in sleep quality and auditory processing. These may pose significant disadvantage for language acquisition, attention, and social interaction necessary for academic and social success.


Asunto(s)
Encéfalo/efectos de los fármacos , Fumar Cigarrillos/efectos adversos , Potenciales Evocados Auditivos/efectos de los fármacos , Nicotina/efectos adversos , Orientación/efectos de los fármacos , Efectos Tardíos de la Exposición Prenatal/inducido químicamente , Estimulación Acústica/métodos , Encéfalo/fisiopatología , Fumar Cigarrillos/psicología , Fumar Cigarrillos/tendencias , Electroencefalografía/efectos de los fármacos , Electroencefalografía/métodos , Potenciales Evocados Auditivos/fisiología , Femenino , Humanos , Lactante , Masculino , Nicotina/administración & dosificación , Orientación/fisiología , Embarazo , Efectos Tardíos de la Exposición Prenatal/fisiopatología , Efectos Tardíos de la Exposición Prenatal/psicología
10.
Internist (Berl) ; 59(1): 97-101, 2018 01.
Artículo en Alemán | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-28653147

RESUMEN

An 89-year-old woman with Alzheimer's dementia was admitted because of altered orientation, aggressiveness and inability to take care of herself at home. Her patient history indicated that 14 days ago the battery of the pacemaker had be renewed. During that time the patient suffered from psychomotor alterations. Therefore, melperone had been initiated. Inspection of the urine and laboratory findings pointed towards an acute exacerbation of acute intermittent porphyria as a possible cause of the delirium. After discontinuation of melperone with additional parenteral therapy with physiological fluids, the signs of delirium significantly improved.


Asunto(s)
Agresión/efectos de los fármacos , Enfermedad de Alzheimer/diagnóstico , Butirofenonas/efectos adversos , Orientación/efectos de los fármacos , Marcapaso Artificial , Porfiria Intermitente Aguda/inducido químicamente , Trastornos Psicomotores/tratamiento farmacológico , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Enfermedad de Alzheimer/psicología , Butirofenonas/uso terapéutico , Delirio/inducido químicamente , Diagnóstico Diferencial , Femenino , Humanos , Porfiria Intermitente Aguda/diagnóstico , Porfiria Intermitente Aguda/psicología , Trastornos Psicomotores/psicología
11.
Psychopharmacology (Berl) ; 234(15): 2311-2323, 2017 Aug.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-28536868

RESUMEN

BACKGROUND: Caffeine is a widely used dietary stimulant that can reverse the effects of fatigue on cognitive, motor and oculomotor function. However, few studies have examined the effect of caffeine on the oculomotor system when homeostasis has not been disrupted by physical fatigue. This study examined the influence of a moderate dose of caffeine on oculomotor control and visual perception in participants who were not fatigued. METHODS: Within a placebo-controlled crossover design, 13 healthy adults ingested caffeine (5 mg·kg-1 body mass) and were tested over 3 h. Eye movements, including saccades, smooth pursuit and optokinetic nystagmus, were measured using infrared oculography. RESULTS: Caffeine was associated with higher peak saccade velocities (472 ± 60° s-1) compared to placebo (455 ± 62° s-1). Quick phases of optokinetic nystagmus were also significantly faster with caffeine, whereas pursuit eye movements were unchanged. Non-oculomotor perceptual tasks (global motion and global orientation processing) were unaffected by caffeine. CONCLUSIONS: These results show that oculomotor control is modulated by a moderate dose of caffeine in unfatigued humans. These effects are detectable in the kinematics of rapid eye movements, whereas pursuit eye movements and visual perception are unaffected. Oculomotor functions may be sensitive to changes in central catecholamines mediated via caffeine's action as an adenosine antagonist, even when participants are not fatigued.


Asunto(s)
Cafeína/administración & dosificación , Estimulantes del Sistema Nervioso Central/administración & dosificación , Movimientos Oculares/efectos de los fármacos , Movimientos Oculares/fisiología , Adulto , Estudios Cruzados , Método Doble Ciego , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Orientación/efectos de los fármacos , Orientación/fisiología , Seguimiento Ocular Uniforme/efectos de los fármacos , Seguimiento Ocular Uniforme/fisiología , Movimientos Sacádicos/efectos de los fármacos , Movimientos Sacádicos/fisiología , Adulto Joven
12.
Nutr Hosp ; 34(2): 352-356, 2017 03 30.
Artículo en Español | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-28421789

RESUMEN

Introduction: Alzheimer's disease is one of the most prevalent neurodegenerative dementia in developed world. This fact, coupled with the lack cure, makes new no pharmacological therapeutic strategies such as nutrient management to investigate. In this regard, it stresses the possible influence of coconut oil as alternative energy source capable of stopping the progressively neuronal death that occurs in this disease. Objectives: To assess the cognitive impact of coconut oil in Alzheimer's patients, and specifically in orientation, language-building, fixing, calculation-concentration and memory areas. Methods: Prospective, longitudinal, qualitative, analytical and experimental study through a clinical trial where 44 patients with Alzheimer's in region of Ribera (Valencia), of which half was selected to receive during 21 days, 40 ml coconut oil daily divided between breakfast (20 ml) and food (20 ml). Before and after administration of the oil, they were evaluated through cognitive test Mini-Mental State Examination to determine possible changes. Results: It was observed in patients who received coconut oil, that cognitive improvement after completion of the intervention, statistically significant improved in the orientation and language-construction areas. Conclusions: Coconut oil appears to improve cognitive abilities of Alzheimer's patients, with different intensity depending on the cognitive area.


Introducción: la enfermedad de Alzheimer es a día de hoy la demencia neurodegenerativa con mayor prevalencia en el primer mundo. Este hecho, unido a la falta de tratamiento farmacológico que cure la enfermedad, hace que se estudien nuevas estrategias terapéuticas no farmacológicas como es la administración de nutrientes. En este sentido, destaca la posible influencia del aceite de coco como fuente energética alternativa, capaz de frenar la muerte neuronal que se produce de modo progresivo en esta enfermedad. Objetivos: valorar el impacto del aceite de coco a nivel cognitivo en pacientes de alzhéimer, y concretamente en las áreas de orientación, lenguaje-construcción, fijación, cálculo-concentración y memoria. Métodos: estudio prospectivo, longitudinal, cualitativo, analítico y experimental a través de un ensayo clínico, donde se seleccionaron a 44 pacientes con alzhéimer de la zona de la Ribera (Comunidad Valenciana), de los cuales a la mitad se le administró durante 21 días, 40 ml diarios de aceite de coco repartidos entre desayuno (20 ml) y comida (20 ml). Antes y después de la administración del aceite, se les valoró a través del test cognitivo Mini-Examen Cognoscitivo, para determinar los posibles cambios. Resultados: en los enfermos que tomaron el aceite de coco se observó una mejora cognitiva tras finalizar la intervención, siendo estadísticamente significativa en las áreas de orientación y lenguaje-construcción. Conclusiones: el aceite de coco parece mejorar la capacidad cognitiva de los enfermos de alzhéimer, variando la intensidad de la misma en función del área cognitiva.


Asunto(s)
Enfermedad de Alzheimer/tratamiento farmacológico , Enfermedad de Alzheimer/psicología , Aceite de Coco/uso terapéutico , Cognición/efectos de los fármacos , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Femenino , Humanos , Estudios Longitudinales , Masculino , Memoria , Orientación/efectos de los fármacos , Estudios Prospectivos , Desempeño Psicomotor/efectos de los fármacos , Aprendizaje Verbal/efectos de los fármacos
13.
Psychopharmacology (Berl) ; 234(7): 1059-1068, 2017 Apr.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-28144707

RESUMEN

RATIONALE: The cognitive deficits observed in young binge drinkers have been largely documented during the last decade. Yet, these earlier studies have mainly focused on high-level cognitive abilities (particularly memory and executive functions), and uncertainty thus still abounds regarding the integrity of less complex cognitive processes in binge drinking. This is particularly true for attentional abilities, which play a crucial role in behavior regulation and are impaired in other alcohol-related disorders. OBJECTIVES AND METHODS: To specify the attentional deficits associated with binge drinking, two groups of university students (40 binge drinkers and 40 matched controls) performed the Attention Network Task, a theoretically grounded test assessing three independent attentional networks: alerting, orienting, and executive control. RESULTS: Binge drinkers displayed preserved orienting performance but impaired alerting and executive control. Binge drinking is thus not related to a general attentional impairment but rather to specific impairments of the alerting and executive control networks. CONCLUSIONS: These results underline that, beyond the already explored high-level deficits, binge drinking is also related to impairments for attentional abilities. In view of the role played by attentional impairments in alcohol dependence, the present data also suggest that rehabilitation programs should be developed to improve attentional abilities at the early stages of alcohol-related disorders.


Asunto(s)
Atención/efectos de los fármacos , Consumo Excesivo de Bebidas Alcohólicas/psicología , Red Nerviosa/efectos de los fármacos , Consumo de Bebidas Alcohólicas/psicología , Consumo Excesivo de Bebidas Alcohólicas/fisiopatología , Función Ejecutiva/efectos de los fármacos , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Red Nerviosa/fisiopatología , Orientación/efectos de los fármacos , Escalas de Valoración Psiquiátrica , Tiempo de Reacción/efectos de los fármacos , Adulto Joven
14.
Dokl Biol Sci ; 470(1): 224-227, 2016 Sep.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-27822751

RESUMEN

The capability of memantine, a noncompetitive antagonist of the NMDA receptors, to prevent impairments of cognitive functions in rats was investigated in the lithium-pilocarpine model of epilepsy. After status epilepticus, rats exhibited impaired exploratory behavior and spatial memory, and a decline of extinction of orienting behavior. Memantine administration prevented these disturbances. Thus, the blockade of the NMDA receptors immediately after status epilepticus allowed prevention of the development of the possible cognitive impairments.


Asunto(s)
Disfunción Cognitiva/prevención & control , Disfunción Cognitiva/fisiopatología , Memantina/administración & dosificación , Receptores de N-Metil-D-Aspartato/antagonistas & inhibidores , Estado Epiléptico/prevención & control , Estado Epiléptico/fisiopatología , Animales , Cognición/efectos de los fármacos , Disfunción Cognitiva/inducido químicamente , Conducta Exploratoria/efectos de los fármacos , Extinción Psicológica/efectos de los fármacos , Litio , Masculino , Orientación/efectos de los fármacos , Pilocarpina , Ratas , Ratas Wistar , Receptores de N-Metil-D-Aspartato/metabolismo , Memoria Espacial/efectos de los fármacos , Estado Epiléptico/inducido químicamente , Resultado del Tratamiento
15.
Pharmacol Biochem Behav ; 149: 9-16, 2016 Oct.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-27461547

RESUMEN

INTRODUCTION AND RATIONALE: Given baseline-dependent effects of nicotine on other forms of attention, there is reason to believe that inconsistent findings for the effects of nicotine on attentional orienting may be partly due to individual differences in baseline (abstinence state) functioning. Individuals with low baseline attention may benefit more from nicotine replacement. METHOD: The effects of nicotine as a function of baseline performance (bottom, middle, and top third of mean reaction times during placebo) were assessed in 52 habitual abstinent smokers (26 females/26 males) utilizing an arrow-cued covert orienting of attention task. RESULTS: Compared to a placebo patch, a 14mg nicotine patch produced faster overall reaction times (RTs). In addition, individuals with slower RTs during the placebo condition benefitted more from nicotine on cued trials than did those who had shorter (faster) RTs during placebo. Nicotine also enhanced the validity effect (shorter RTs to validly vs. invalidly cued targets), but this nicotine benefit did not differ as a function of overall placebo-baseline performance. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support the view that nicotine enhances cued spatial attentional orienting in individuals who have slower RTs during placebo (nicotine-free) conditions; however, baseline-dependent effects may not generalize to all aspects of spatial attention. These findings are consistent with findings indicating that nicotine's effects vary as a function of task parameters rather than simple RT speeding or cognitive enhancement.


Asunto(s)
Atención/efectos de los fármacos , Señales (Psicología) , Nicotina/administración & dosificación , Orientación Espacial/efectos de los fármacos , Orientación/efectos de los fármacos , Percepción Espacial/efectos de los fármacos , Adolescente , Adulto , Atención/fisiología , Método Doble Ciego , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Orientación/fisiología , Orientación Espacial/fisiología , Tiempo de Reacción/efectos de los fármacos , Tiempo de Reacción/fisiología , Percepción Espacial/fisiología , Dispositivos para Dejar de Fumar Tabaco , Adulto Joven
16.
Psychopharmacology (Berl) ; 233(14): 2737-51, 2016 Jul.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-27256356

RESUMEN

OBJECTIVE: The study investigated whether baseline plasma oxytocin (OXT) concentrations might moderate the effects of nasally administered OXT on social orienting. METHODS: Thirty-one males with Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and thirty healthy males participated in a double-blind placebo-controlled crossover trial. After administration of the compound, participants were viewing pictures from the International Affective Picture System that represented a systematic variation of pleasant, unpleasant and neutral scenes with and without humans. The outcome measures were a cardiac evoked response (ECR) and a cortical evoked long latency parietal positivity (LPP). RESULTS: Males with ASD had significantly higher plasma baseline levels than the controls. In the absence of general treatment effects, higher baseline concentrations were found to be associated with larger treatment effects, particularly in the group of males with ASD. Higher post-treatment plasma OXT concentrations were found to be associated with smaller treatment effects and larger orienting responses in the placebo situation in the group of controls. CONCLUSIONS: We interpret our findings as suggesting that it is the central availability of OXT determining how much of the nasally administered OXT will become centrally absorbed and how much of it will become released into the bloodstream.


Asunto(s)
Trastorno del Espectro Autista/tratamiento farmacológico , Fármacos del Sistema Nervioso Central/farmacología , Emociones/efectos de los fármacos , Orientación/efectos de los fármacos , Oxitocina/farmacología , Conducta Social , Administración Intranasal , Adolescente , Adulto , Trastorno del Espectro Autista/psicología , Fármacos del Sistema Nervioso Central/sangre , Estudios Cruzados , Método Doble Ciego , Empatía/efectos de los fármacos , Potenciales Evocados/efectos de los fármacos , Humanos , Masculino , Oxitocina/sangre , Lóbulo Parietal/efectos de los fármacos , Adulto Joven
17.
Sci Rep ; 6: 27555, 2016 06 08.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-27271799

RESUMEN

The discovery of shared behavioral processes across phyla is a significant step in the establishment of a comparative study of behavior. We use immobility as an origin and reference for the measurement of fly locomotor behavior; speed, walking direction and trunk orientation as the degrees of freedom shaping this behavior; and cocaine as the parameter inducing progressive transitions in and out of immobility. We characterize and quantify the generative rules that shape Drosophila locomotor behavior, bringing about a gradual buildup of kinematic degrees of freedom during the transition from immobility to normal behavior, and the opposite narrowing down into immobility. Transitions into immobility unfold via sequential enhancement and then elimination of translation, curvature and finally rotation. Transitions out of immobility unfold by progressive addition of these degrees of freedom in the opposite order. The same generative rules have been found in vertebrate locomotor behavior in several contexts (pharmacological manipulations, ontogeny, social interactions) involving transitions in-and-out of immobility. Recent claims for deep homology between arthropod central complex and vertebrate basal ganglia provide an opportunity to examine whether the rules we report also share common descent. Our approach prompts the discovery of behavioral homologies, contributing to the elusive problem of behavioral evolution.


Asunto(s)
Conducta Animal/fisiología , Evolución Biológica , Locomoción/genética , Animales , Conducta Animal/efectos de los fármacos , Fenómenos Biomecánicos/efectos de los fármacos , Fenómenos Biomecánicos/genética , Cocaína/farmacología , Drosophila/genética , Drosophila/fisiología , Locomoción/efectos de los fármacos , Locomoción/fisiología , Orientación/efectos de los fármacos , Orientación/fisiología
18.
J Chem Ecol ; 42(5): 368-81, 2016 May.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-27167383

RESUMEN

Plants damaged by herbivores emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are used by parasitoids for host location. In nature, however, plants are exposed to multiple abiotic and biotic stresses of varying intensities, which may affect tritrophic interactions. Here, we studied the effects of ozone exposure and feeding by Pieris brassicae larvae on the VOCs emitted by Brassica nigra and the effects on oriented flight of the parasitoid Cotesia glomerata. We also investigated the oriented flight of C. glomerata in a wind-tunnel with elevated ozone levels. Herbivore-feeding induced the emission of several VOCs, while ozone alone had no significant effect. However, exposure to 120 ppb ozone, followed by 24 hr of herbivore-feeding, induced higher emissions of all VOCs as compared to herbivore-feeding alone. In accordance, herbivore-damaged plants elicited more oriented flights than undamaged plants, whereas plants exposed to 120 ppb ozone and 24 hr of herbivore-feeding elicited more oriented flights than plants subjected to herbivore-feeding alone. Ozone enrichment of the wind-tunnel air appeared to negatively affect orientation of parasitoids at 70 ppb, but not at 120 ppb. These results suggest that the combination of ozone and P. brassicae-feeding modulates VOC emissions, which significantly influence foraging efficiency of C. glomerata.


Asunto(s)
Cadena Alimentaria , Herbivoria/efectos de los fármacos , Planta de la Mostaza/efectos de los fármacos , Planta de la Mostaza/metabolismo , Ozono/farmacología , Animales , Mariposas Diurnas/efectos de los fármacos , Mariposas Diurnas/fisiología , Ingestión de Alimentos/efectos de los fármacos , Vuelo Animal/efectos de los fármacos , Interacciones Huésped-Parásitos/efectos de los fármacos , Himenópteros/efectos de los fármacos , Himenópteros/fisiología , Planta de la Mostaza/parasitología , Planta de la Mostaza/fisiología , Orientación/efectos de los fármacos , Estrés Fisiológico/efectos de los fármacos , Compuestos Orgánicos Volátiles/metabolismo , Compuestos Orgánicos Volátiles/farmacología
19.
J Neurosci ; 36(11): 3208-21, 2016 Mar 16.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-26985031

RESUMEN

Orientation selectivity (OS) is a prominent and well studied feature of early visual processing in mammals, but recent work has highlighted the possibility that parallel OS circuits might exist in multiple brain locations. Although both classic and modern work has identified an OS mechanism in selective wiring from lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) to primary visual cortex, OS responses have now been found upstream of cortex in mouse LGN and superior colliculus, suggesting a possible origin in the retina. Indeed, retinal OS responses have been reported for decades in rabbit and more recently in mouse. However, we still know very little about the properties and mechanisms of retinal OS in the mouse, including whether there is a distinct OS ganglion cell type, which orientations are represented, and what are the synaptic mechanisms of retinal OS. We have identified two novel types of OS ganglion cells in the mouse retina that are highly selective for horizontal and vertical cardinal orientations. Reconstructions of the dendritic trees of these OS ganglion cells and measurements of their synaptic conductances offer insights into the mechanism of the OS computation at the earliest stage of the visual system. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Orientation selectivity (OS) is one of the most well studied computations in the brain and has become a prominent model system in various areas of sensory neuroscience. Although the cortical mechanism of OS suggested by Hubel and Wiesel (1962) has been investigated intensely, other OS cells exist upstream of cortex as early as the retina and the mechanisms of OS in subcortical regions are much less well understood. We identified two ON retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in mouse that compute OS along the horizontal (nasal-temporal) and vertical (dorsoventral) axes of visual space. We show the relationship between dendritic morphology and OS for each RGC type and reveal new synaptic mechanisms of OS computation in the retina.


Asunto(s)
Orientación/fisiología , Retina/citología , Células Ganglionares de la Retina/clasificación , Células Ganglionares de la Retina/fisiología , Vías Visuales/fisiología , Potenciales de Acción/efectos de los fármacos , Potenciales de Acción/fisiología , Animales , Colina O-Acetiltransferasa/metabolismo , Dendritas/fisiología , Antagonistas del GABA/farmacología , Glicina/farmacología , Ratones , Ratones Endogámicos C57BL , Orientación/efectos de los fármacos , Estimulación Luminosa , Piridazinas/farmacología , Células Ganglionares de la Retina/citología , Células Ganglionares de la Retina/efectos de los fármacos , Bloqueadores de los Canales de Sodio/farmacología , Estadística como Asunto , Tetrodotoxina/farmacología
20.
J Neural Transm (Vienna) ; 123(5): 473-80, 2016 05.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-26983925

RESUMEN

Motor function and motor excitability can be modulated by changes of somatosensory input. Here, we performed a randomized single-blind trial to investigate behavioral and neurophysiological changes during temporary deafferentation of left upper arm and forearm in 31 right-handed healthy adults. Lidocaine cream was used to anesthetize the skin from wrist to shoulder, sparing the hand. As control condition, on a different day, a neutral cream was applied to the same skin area. The sequence (first Lidocaine, then placebo or vice versa) was randomized. Behavioral measures included the Grating Orientation Task, the Von Frey hair testing and the Nine-hole-peg-test. Transcranial magnetic stimulation was used to investigate short-interval intracortical inhibition, stimulus response curves, motor evoked potential amplitudes during pre-innervation and the cortical silent period (CSP). Recordings were obtained from left first dorsal interosseous muscle and from left flexor carpi radialis muscle. During deafferentation, the threshold of touch measured at the forearm was significantly worse. Other behavioral treatment-related changes were not found. The CSP showed a significant interaction between treatment and time in first dorsal interosseous muscle. CSP duration was longer during Lidocaine application and shorter during placebo exposure. We conclude that, in healthy subjects, temporary cutaneous deafferentation of upper and lower arm may have minor effects on motor inhibition, but not on sensory or motor function for the adjacent non-anesthetized hand.


Asunto(s)
Potenciales Evocados Motores/efectos de los fármacos , Antebrazo/inervación , Lidocaína/farmacología , Corteza Motora/efectos de los fármacos , Administración Cutánea , Adulto , Anestésicos Locales/administración & dosificación , Anestésicos Locales/farmacología , Fenómenos Biofísicos/efectos de los fármacos , Depresión de Propagación Cortical/efectos de los fármacos , Femenino , Voluntarios Sanos , Humanos , Lidocaína/administración & dosificación , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Corteza Motora/fisiología , Músculo Esquelético , Orientación/efectos de los fármacos , Umbral Sensorial/efectos de los fármacos , Método Simple Ciego , Estimulación Magnética Transcraneal , Adulto Joven
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