Individual differences in the effects of cannabinoids on motor activity, dopaminergic activity and DARPP-32 phosphorylation in distinct regions of the brain

Abstract The functional connectome is highly distinctive in adults and adolescents, underlying individual differences in cognition and behavior. However, it remains unknown whether the individual uniqueness of the functional connectome is present in neonates, who are far from mature. Here, we utilized the multiband resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data of 40 healthy neonates from the Developing Human Connectome Project and a split-half analysis approach to characterize the uniqueness of the functional connectome in the neonatal brain. Through functional connectome-based individual identification analysis, we found that all the neonates were correctly identified, with the most discriminative regions predominantly confined to the higher-order cortices (e.g., prefrontal and parietal regions). The connectivities with the highest contributions to individual uniqueness were primarily located between different functional systems, and the short- (0–30 mm) and middle-range (30–60 mm) connectivities were more distinctive than the long-range (>60 mm) connectivities. Interestingly, we found that functional data with a scanning length longer than 3.5 min were able to capture the individual uniqueness in the functional connectome. Our results highlight that individual uniqueness is present in the functional connectome of neonates and provide insights into the brain mechanisms underlying individual differences in cognition and behavior later in life.

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A Role for Xanthurenic Acid in the Control of Brain Dopaminergic Activity

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms22136974 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (13) ◽

pp. 6974

Author(s):

Omar Taleb ◽

Mohammed Maammar ◽

Christian Klein ◽

Michel Maitre ◽

Ayikoe Guy Mensah-Nyagan

Keyword(s):

Dopamine Release ◽

Intraperitoneal Administration ◽

Glutamate Transporter ◽

Fold Increase ◽

Xanthurenic Acid ◽

Metabotropic Receptors ◽

Parent Molecule ◽

Dopaminergic Activity ◽

The Brain

Xanthurenic acid (XA) is a metabolite of the kynurenine pathway (KP) synthetized in the brain from dietary or microbial tryptophan that crosses the blood-brain barrier through carrier-mediated transport. XA and kynurenic acid (KYNA) are two structurally related compounds of KP occurring at micromolar concentrations in the CNS and suspected to modulate some pathophysiological mechanisms of neuropsychiatric and/or neurodegenerative diseases. Particularly, various data including XA cerebral distribution (from 1 µM in olfactory bulbs and cerebellum to 0.1–0.4 µM in A9 and A10), its release, and interactions with G protein-dependent XA-receptor, glutamate transporter and metabotropic receptors, strongly support a signaling and/or neuromodulatory role for XA. However, while the parent molecule KYNA is considered as potentially involved in neuropsychiatric disorders because of its inhibitory action on dopamine release in the striatum, the effect of XA on brain dopaminergic activity remains unknown. Here, we demonstrate that acute local/microdialysis-infusions of XA dose-dependently stimulate dopamine release in the rat prefrontal cortex (four-fold increase in the presence of 20 µM XA). This stimulatory effect is blocked by XA-receptor antagonist NCS-486. Interestingly, our results show that the peripheral/intraperitoneal administration of XA, which has been proven to enhance intra-cerebral XA concentrations (about 200% increase after 50 mg/kg XA i.p), also induces a dose-dependent increase of dopamine release in the cortex and striatum. Furthermore, our in vivo electrophysiological studies reveal that the repeated/daily administrations of XA reduce by 43% the number of spontaneously firing dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area. In the substantia nigra, XA treatment does not change the number of firing neurons. Altogether, our results suggest that XA may contribute together with KYNA to generate a KYNA/XA ratio that may crucially determine the brain normal dopaminergic activity. Imbalance of this ratio may result in dopaminergic dysfunctions related to several brain disorders, including psychotic diseases and drug dependence.

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The Impact of Motor Activity and Inactivity on the Brain

Current Directions in Psychological Science ◽

10.1111/j.1467-8721.2006.00436.x ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 15 (4) ◽

pp. 203-206 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Martin T. Woodlee ◽

Timothy Schallert

Keyword(s):

Motor Activity ◽

The Impact ◽

The Brain

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Increase in transforming growth factor-β in the brain during infection is related to fever, not depression of spontaneous motor activity

Neuroscience ◽

10.1016/j.neuroscience.2006.10.037 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 144 (3) ◽

pp. 1133-1140 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

S. Matsumura ◽

T. Shibakusa ◽

T. Fujikawa ◽

H. Yamada ◽

K. Inoue ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Growth Factor ◽

Motor Activity ◽

Transforming Growth Factor ◽

Transforming Growth Factor Β ◽

Spontaneous Motor Activity ◽

The Brain

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Short-term erythrosine B-induced inhibition of the brain regional serotonergic activity suppresses motor activity (exploratory behavior) of young adult mammals

Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior ◽

10.1016/j.pbb.2009.02.010 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 92 (4) ◽

pp. 574-582 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Arindam Dalal ◽

Mrinal K. Poddar

Keyword(s):

Young Adult ◽

Motor Activity ◽

Exploratory Behavior ◽

Short Term ◽

Erythrosine B ◽

Serotonergic Activity ◽

The Brain

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Network Neuroscience and Personality

Personality Neuroscience ◽

10.1017/pen.2018.12 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 1 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Sebastian Markett ◽

Christian Montag ◽

Martin Reuter

Keyword(s):

Nervous System ◽

Individual Differences ◽

Personality Traits ◽

Brain Connectivity ◽

Gray Matter Volume ◽

Actual Behavior ◽

Present Contribution ◽

Nervous Systems ◽

The Brain ◽

Network Neuroscience

AbstractPersonality and individual differences originate from the brain. Despite major advances in the affective and cognitive neurosciences, however, it is still not well understood how personality and single personality traits are represented within the brain. Most research on brain-personality correlates has focused either on morphological aspects of the brain such as increases or decreases in local gray matter volume, or has investigated how personality traits can account for individual differences in activation differences in various tasks. Here, we propose that personality neuroscience can be advanced by adding a network perspective on brain structure and function, an endeavor that we label personality network neuroscience.With the rise of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the establishment of connectomics as a theoretical framework for structural and functional connectivity modeling, and recent advancements in the application of mathematical graph theory to brain connectivity data, several new tools and techniques are readily available to be applied in personality neuroscience. The present contribution introduces these concepts, reviews recent progress in their application to the study of individual differences, and explores their potential to advance our understanding of the neural implementation of personality.Trait theorists have long argued that personality traits are biophysical entities that are not mere abstractions of and metaphors for human behavior. Traits are thought to actually exist in the brain, presumably in the form of conceptual nervous systems. A conceptual nervous system refers to the attempt to describe parts of the central nervous system in functional terms with relevance to psychology and behavior. We contend that personality network neuroscience can characterize these conceptual nervous systems on a functional and anatomical level and has the potential do link dispositional neural correlates to actual behavior.

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Visual Perception in Specific Learning Difficulties

Theory and Practice in Child Development ◽

10.46303/tpicd.2021.3 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 25-40

Author(s):

Neriman Aral

Keyword(s):

Individual Differences ◽

Visual Perception ◽

Learning Difficulties ◽

Learning Difficulty ◽

The Family ◽

Mental Problems ◽

The Moment ◽

The Individual ◽

The Brain ◽

Specific Learning

From the moment the child is born, learning becomes meaningful and it is interpreted as a result of the experiences first in the family and then in school. However, it is sometimes not possible to talk about the fact that learning takes place in all children although the process has taken place in this direction. Sometimes the individual differences that exist in children and the inability to get the necessary support in structuring their learning experiences can be effective in the failure of learning, while sometimes the type of congenital difficulty can be effective. One of these types of difficulty is a specific learning difficulty. It is not always possible for children with specific learning difficulties to learn, even if they do not have any mental problems. In this case, many factors can be effective, especially the problems that children experience in their visual perception can become effective. Since visual perception is the processing of symbols received from the environment in the brain, the problem that may be experienced in this process can also make it difficult to learn this situation. In line with these considerations, it is aimed to focus on the importance of visual perception in specific learning difficulties.

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