Memory impairment in a simple recall task increases mortality at 10 years in non-demented elderly.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether memory impairment detected in the three-word delayed recall task of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) increases the risk of mortality. METHODS: The NEDICES (Neurological Diseases in Central Spain) cohort study, is a population census-based study, aimed at detecting age-associated neurological diseases in people aged 65 and over, living in one rural and two urban communities in central Spain. Participants with dementia or without MMSE evaluation at baseline were excluded. Mortality was evaluated 10.67 years after enrollment. Cox's proportional hazards regression models were used to evaluate the hazard of death according to performance in the three-word delayed recall task included in the MMSE (score 0-3), adjusting for potential covariates (sex, age, level of education, and comorbidity). Survival was estimated using Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: The final study population comprised 3778 non-demented elderly subjects. After adjusting for confounding covariates, mortality was 52% greater in persons with the lowest memory score (0) vs. persons with the highest score (3). Hazard ratios (HR) showed a tendency to an increase in mortality from the highest to the lowest memory score, which was statistically significant for the groups with none (HR=1.52; CI=1.27-1.80) or one (HR=1.24; CI=1.04-1.48) word recall. Older age, male sex, and comorbidity were also associated with mortality, but level of education was not. CONCLUSIONS: Memory impairment in the three-word delayed free recall, a very simple task used by physicians worldwide, increases the risk of mortality at 10 years in non-demented elderly.

Postpartum changes in the GABAergic system in the bed nucleus of the accessory olfactory tract.

The bed nucleus of the accessory olfactory tract (BAOT) is a sexually dimorphic structure which controls the inhibition/disinhibition of the medial preoptic area in the expression of maternal behavior. Therefore, in the present study we investigated sex differences and the modulation of gamma-aminobutiric-acid (GABA) in the BAOT during the first two postpartum days. Four groups of Wistar rats: control males, control females, 0 h postpartum females and 48 h postpartum females, were used in this experiment. Sex differences in glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) and GABA(A) alpha-chain receptor densities were apparent in the BAOT. The hormonal and behavioral postpartum state affects GABAergic activity in the females' BAOT in two ways: firstly, pregnancy and the first two postpartum days induce an increase in GABA(A)-receptor and GAD densities; secondly, the intensity of these activities are greater in the left hemisphere than in the right. These changes might be related to the BAOT's function of inhibiting/disinhibiting maternal behavior.

NADPH-diaphorase activity increases during estrous phase in the bed nucleus of the accessory olfactory tract in the female rat.

We investigated the presence of nitric oxide in the bed nucleus of the accessory olfactory tract (BAOT) in males, diestrous females and estrous females using NADPH-diaphorase. Our results demonstrate a significant increase in the density of the medium-stained cells in the estrous female rats suggesting that during estrous a specific subpopulation of nitrinergic cells are activated in the BAOT. This might be related to the physiological and behavioral changes that occurs in estrous.

Several factors influenced attrition in a population-based elderly cohort: neurological disorders in Central Spain Study.

OBJECTIVE: We studied attrition (i.e., participant dropout) 3 years after the baseline interview in a population-based Spanish cohort. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: The Neurological Disorders in Central Spain study is a longitudinal, population-based survey of chronic neurologic conditions in persons aged > or = 65 years. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to examine baseline differences between participants who took part in the 3-year follow-up evaluation vs. those who did not. RESULTS: Of the 5,278 participants evaluated at baseline (1994-1995), 1,482 (28.1%) were lost to the follow-up (1997-1998). Factors that were associated with dropout due to refusal were as follows: living in a rural area and being single. Contact failure was associated with older age and being unmarried and widowed. Unreachable participants were less likely to take three or more medications or live in a professional neighborhood. Predictors of dropout due to death were male gender, older age, having impaired activities of daily living, taking more medications, poor self-perceived health, dementia, and smoking. CONCLUSIONS: These findings on participants who are at high risk of dropout may be useful in the planning phase of future prospective studies. Of the possible reasons for attrition, refusal is the most important because it is amenable to change.

Pharmacological analysis of the effects of benzodiazepines on punished schedule-induced polydipsia in rats.

Food-deprived Wistar rats were exposed to a fixed-time 60-s food delivery schedule until they developed schedule-induced polydipsia. Every fifth lick was then followed by an electric shock during two, signalled, 5-min periods, which ran concurrently with the food delivery schedule. Shock intensities were adjusted to reduce licking to 60-70% of the unpunished licking rates. The benzodiazepine full agonists, diazepam (0.3-3.0 mg/kg), chlordiazepoxide (0.3-10.0 mg/kg), oxazepam (0.3-3.0 mg/kg) and the benzodiazepine partial agonist, RU-32698 (3.0-17.0 mg/kg), led to increases in punished responding at intermediate doses and decreases at the highest doses tested. All benzodiazepine agonists brought about dose-dependent decreases in unpunished schedule-induced polydipsia, with doses required to reduce drinking proving higher than doses required to increase punished schedule-induced polydipsia. The antipunishment effect of 0.3 mg/kg of diazepam was dose-dependently antagonized by flumazenil and the benzodiazepine inverse agonist, RU-34000. Flumazenil effects, however, could reflect actions of flumazenil as a partial inverse agonist at GABAA receptors. RU-32698 at 10.0 mg/kg further facilitated the rate-increasing effect of 0.3 mg/kg of diazepam, but at 17.0 mg/kg partially blocked such antipunishment effect. Overall, the present results extend the similarities of the effects of benzodiazepine compounds on adjunctive and operant patterns of behaviour by showing similar interactions within the benzodiazepine receptor complex.

Bases neuroanatmmicas, neurobiológicas y del apendizaje de la conducta de adicccióna la cocaína / Neuroanatomic, neurobiologic and learning-related bases of cocaine addictive behavior.

Drug addiction is one of the major problems in modern societies. Behaviours such as cocaine consumption and seeking have risen up as a major subject not solely in health and pharmacological sciences but in behavioural neuroscience as well. Therefore, in the course of several decades a huge body of knowledge has been rendered by Neurosciences addressing the most important variables involved in addiction-acquisition as well as maintenance and relapse of drug-seeking behaviour. The breakthroughs point to neural circuits like the mesocortical-mesolimbic dopaminergic system and the role of neurotransmitter, mainly glutamate and dopamine, in the development of addictive behaviours. The analysis of addiction has been improved by the contribution of techniques from the Psychology of learning in spite of reinforcement mechanisms triggered by drugs. The present review will aim at the state of art of the field highlighting the important contribution of both neurochemical and neuroanatomical studies alongside with behavioural mechanisms.

El consumo de drogas es uno de los principales problemas de salud pública al que se enfrentan las sociedades actuales. Durante varias décadas se ha generado un amplio grupo de trabajos científicos, desde la perspectiva de las neurociencias, que han logrado esclarecer variables importantes implicadas en el proceso de adicción y en los de mantenimiento y recaída. Se ha encontrado la implicación directa de circuitos neurales como el mesolímbico-mesocortical o la participación activa de sistemas de neurotransmisores como los dopaminérgicos y los glutamatérgicos. Además, se han esclarecido los sustratos conductuales de la adicción mediante técnicas procedentes de la Psicología del Aprendizaje, lo cual ha sido de gran utilidad a la hora de evaluar los componentes de este comportamiento complejo. En este artículo se hará una revisión de estos hallazgos destacando la importancia del estudio conjunto de las bases neuroquímicas y neuroanatómicas junto con los procesos conductuales.

Psicobiología de la conducta maternal en roedores: análisis de algunas variables endocrinas y neuroquímicas / Psychobiology of the rodents maternal behavior: Análisis of some endocrine and neurochemical variables

El cuidado maternal contempla una serie de conductas ubicadas en términos de comportamientos dentro de las conductas reproductoras, cuyos objetivos principales son el cuidado de la prole, su supervivencia y maduración. Desde el punto de vista de la investigación, la conducta maternal resulta ser un buen modelo de estudio ya que involucra multiplicidad de variables para su estudio. En este artículo se revisan en forma breve, la participación de las variables como las conductuales y neuroanatómicas, describiendo algunos estudios básicos y la implantación de estructuras como el Sistema Límbico y el Sistema Vomeronasal. Igualmente se evalúan las variables endocrinas que describen cambios hormonales durante la gestación, el parto y el postparto en la fluctuación de hormonas como la progesterona, el estaridol, la oxitocina y las láctogenas y los posibles efectos de transcripción genómica y de membrana que inducen cambios a nivel neuroquímico en la modulación y control de la conducta. Dentro del estudio neuroquímico de la conducta maternal destaca la participación de neurotransmisores como la dopamina, el glutamato, la serotonina y del sistema GABA-érgico como neurotransmisores inhibidores o activadores de acuerdo con la estructura neural involucrada. Como problema de investigación, la conducta maternal aporta un modelo completo de análisis dentro del campo de las neurociencias o de la psicobiología