scholarly journals Supplementation of Lactobacillus early in life alters attention bias to threat in piglets

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Else Verbeek ◽  
Johan Dicksved ◽  
Linda Keeling

AbstractGut microbes play an important role in regulating brain processes and influence behaviour, cognition and emotional states in humans and rodents. Nevertheless, it is not known how ingestion of beneficial microbes modulates emotional states in piglets and whether it can improve welfare. Here we use an attention bias task to assess the effects of Lactobacillus reuteri ATCC-PTA-6475 and Lactobacillus plantarum L1-6 supplementation early in life on emotional states in 33 piglets compared to 31 placebo supplemented piglets. We hypothesized that Lactobacillus supplementation would reduce vigilance behaviour (head at shoulder height or higher) and attention (head oriented towards the threat) in response to an auditory threat. The results showed that the control group increased vigilance behaviour in response to the threat, but there was no increase in the probiotics group. Despite the increased vigilance, the control group paid less attention to the threat. One explanation may be that control piglets avoided looking in the direction of the threat just because they perceived it as more threatening, but further research is necessary to confirm this. In conclusion, Lactobacillus supplementation may be a suitable tool to reduce anxiety, promote a more appropriate response to a challenge and so improve welfare.

2017 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 71-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hélène Maire ◽  
Renaud Brochard ◽  
Jean-Luc Kop ◽  
Vivien Dioux ◽  
Daniel Zagar

Abstract. This study measured the effect of emotional states on lexical decision task performance and investigated which underlying components (physiological, attentional orienting, executive, lexical, and/or strategic) are affected. We did this by assessing participants’ performance on a lexical decision task, which they completed before and after an emotional state induction task. The sequence effect, usually produced when participants repeat a task, was significantly smaller in participants who had received one of the three emotion inductions (happiness, sadness, embarrassment) than in control group participants (neutral induction). Using the diffusion model ( Ratcliff, 1978 ) to resolve the data into meaningful parameters that correspond to specific psychological components, we found that emotion induction only modulated the parameter reflecting the physiological and/or attentional orienting components, whereas the executive, lexical, and strategic components were not altered. These results suggest that emotional states have an impact on the low-level mechanisms underlying mental chronometric tasks.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 2481-2488
Author(s):  
Guangqiang Wang ◽  
Yan Chen ◽  
Su Fei ◽  
Chunliang Xie ◽  
Yongjun Xia ◽  
...  

Endogenous and exogenous strains exhibit no significant differences in healthy mice, whereas after PEG treatment, colonisation of endogenous strain is greatly enhanced.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qingfeng Ge ◽  
Bo Yang ◽  
Rui Liu ◽  
Donglei Jiang ◽  
Hai Yu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) can cause serious damage to the human body and may cause various chronic diseases. Studies have found that lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have antioxidant and anti-aging effects, and are important resources for the development of microbial antioxidants. This paper was to explore the potential role of an antioxidant strain, Lactobacillus plantarum NJAU-01 screened from traditional dry-cured meat product Jinhua Ham in regulating D-galactose-induced subacute senescence of mice. A total of 48 specific pathogen free Kun Ming mice (SPF KM mice) were randomly allocated into 6 groups: control group with sterile saline injection, aging group with subcutaneously injection of D-galactose, treatments groups with injection of D-galactose and intragastric administration of 107, 108, and 109 CFU/mL L. plantarum NJAU-01, and positive control group with injection of D-galactose and intragastric administration of 1 mg/mL Vitamin C. Results The results showed that the treatment group of L. plantarum NJAU-01 at 109 CFU/mL showed higher total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) and the antioxidant enzymatic activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and catalase (CAT) than those of the other groups in serum, heart and liver. In contrast, the content of the oxidative stress marker malondialdehyde (MDA) showed lower levels than the other groups (P < 0.05). The antioxidant capacity was improved with the supplement of the increasing concentration of L. plantarum NJAU-01. Conclusions Thus, this study demonstrates that L. plantarum NJAU-01 can alleviate oxidative stress by increasing the activities of enzymes involved in oxidation resistance and decreasing level of lipid oxidation in mice.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (13) ◽  
pp. 5765
Author(s):  
Joo-Yun Kim ◽  
Eun-Jung Choi ◽  
Jae-Ho Lee ◽  
Myeong-Seok Yoo ◽  
Keon Heo ◽  
...  

Vitamin B2, also known as riboflavin, is essential for maintaining human health. The purpose of this study was to isolate novel lactic acid bacteria that overproduce vitamin B2 and to validate their potential as probiotics. In this study, Lactobacillus plantarum HY7715 (HY7715) was selected among lactic acid bacteria isolated from Kimchi. HY7715 showed a very high riboflavin-producing ability compared to the control strain due to the high expression of ribA, ribB, ribC, ribH, and ribG genes. HY7715 produced 34.5 ± 2.41 mg/L of riboflavin for 24 h without consuming riboflavin in the medium under optimal growth conditions. It was able to produce riboflavin in an in vitro model of the intestinal environment. In addition, when riboflavin deficiency was induced in mice through nutritional restriction, higher levels of riboflavin were detected in plasma and urine in the HY7715 administration group than in the control group. HY7715 showed high survival rate in simulated gastrointestinal conditions and had antibiotic resistance below the cutoff MIC value suggested by the European Food Safety Authority; moreover, it did not cause hemolysis. In conclusion, HY7715 could be considered a beneficial probiotic strain for human and animal applications, suggesting that it could be a new alternative to address riboflavin deficiency.


2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 505-512 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Yakovlieva ◽  
T. Tacheva ◽  
S. Mihaylova ◽  
R. Tropcheva ◽  
K. Trifonova ◽  
...  

In recent years, many authors have investigated the possible antidiabetic effect of lactic acid bacteria. Lactobacillus species constitute a major part of the lactic acid bacteria group and have been found to exhibit beneficial effects on the development of diabetes and its complications. In the current study, we investigated the effects of newly characterised Bulgarian Lactobacillus strains, Lactobacillus brevis 15 and Lactobacillus plantarum 13, on blood glucose levels and body weight of rats fed a fructose-enriched diet. An experiment was conducted over a period of 8 weeks with 24 2-month-old Wistar rats randomly assigned to receive a standard diet (Con, control group), fructose-enriched diet (Fr group), standard diet with probiotics given twice a week (Pro group), and fructose-enriched diet with probiotics given twice a week (Pro+Fr group). At the end of the experimental period, a statistically significant increase in body weight was observed in all experimental groups (P<0.0001). The highest rise was seen in the fructose group (Fr, 169±19 g), followed by the Pro+Fr group (153±15 g), Pro group (149±13 g), and Con group (141±5 g). Moreover, the final blood glucose levels had risen significantly in the groups receiving fructose either without (Fr; P<0.0001) or with lactobacilli (Pro+Fr; P=0.002), while the rise was insignificant in the group of rats given probiotic supplementation only (Pro, P=0.071) and inexistent in the Con group (P=0.999). The highest elevation of blood glucose levels was observed in the Fr group (3.18 mmol/l), followed by the Pro+Fr group (2.00 mmol/l) whereas the Pro group showed the lowest levels (0.60 mmol/l). The results of our study suggest that the newly characterised Bulgarian Lactobacillus strains, L. brevis 15 and L. plantarum 13, could be considered as possible probiotics and might be able to prevent some metabolic disturbances.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose Maria Garcia-Garcia ◽  
Víctor M. R. Penichet ◽  
María Dolores Lozano ◽  
Juan Enrique Garrido ◽  
Effie Lai-Chong Law

Affective computing is becoming more and more important as it enables to extend the possibilities of computing technologies by incorporating emotions. In fact, the detection of users’ emotions has become one of the most important aspects regarding Affective Computing. In this paper, we present an educational software application that incorporates affective computing by detecting the users’ emotional states to adapt its behaviour to the emotions sensed. This way, we aim at increasing users’ engagement to keep them motivated for longer periods of time, thus improving their learning progress. To prove this, the application has been assessed with real users. The performance of a set of users using the proposed system has been compared with a control group that used the same system without implementing emotion detection. The outcomes of this evaluation have shown that our proposed system, incorporating affective computing, produced better results than the one used by the control group.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 48

Sleep is defined as an easily reversible periodic state marked by the absence of wakefulness. Studies have shown that university students tend to have a diminished amount of sleep. This would lead to the loss of concentration, daytime sleepiness, and reduced academic performances. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of yoga on overall sleep quality, depression, anxiety, stress, and blood glucose levels. A total of 88 participants with 44 students in each group, control and experimental, were recruited from Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman based on the outcome of the Godin Shephard questionnaire. A total score of less than 14 was considered mild hence falling into the control group while above 14 and had practiced yoga for a minimum of 6 weeks were placed in the experimental group. The participants were required to self-administer a set of questionnaires consisting of socio-demographic information, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaire and Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scores. Three components of sleep, namely the habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, and daytime dysfunctions, were better in the experimental group compared to the control one. Depression, anxiety, stress, and blood glucose levels also appeared to be more desirable in the experimental group with yoga students. It was found that blood glucose levels were positively correlated to the Global PSQI score, depression, anxiety, and stress measures in this study. In conclusion, yoga-practicing students have healthier sleep patterns, negative emotional states, and blood glucose levels. In order to obtain more conclusive findings, similar studies should be carried out in different universities with larger sample size and for longer periods.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 84-99
Author(s):  
L.Y. Demidova ◽  
N.V. Dvoryanchikov

This article highlights the problem of emotional perception in pedophilia (ICD-10) / pedophilia disorder (ICD-11). In present paper, emotional perception is considered as abilities of recognizing and identifying a wide range of mental states like emotions, affects, moods, feelings. The assumption about relations of alexithymia and disturbances in the recognition of emotions, perspective taking, empathy with pedophilia and regulatory mechanisms of activity verified empirically. Two groups of persons accused of sexual crimes are compared: 44 people with pedophilia, 32 people without the disorder; also 95 persons who haven't been accused were examined for the control group; as well intra-group comparison of pedophilic persons with egosyntonic and egodystonic attitude toward sexual drive was made. Contradictions of earlier studies are resolved in the result: it is shown that in pedophilia the ability of understanding emotional states remains normal at first sight (in comparison with the deficits found in the accused without pedophilia). However, the group with pedophilia is characterized by extremely high level of alexithymia and based on this the consistently conclusion is made about disturbances of emotional regulation in egosyntonic form of this disorder.


2020 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-112
Author(s):  
Anna O. Kaminska ◽  
Nataliia G. Pshuk ◽  
Yuliana Y. Martynova

The aim of our study was to determine features of social and emotional intelligence in family caregivers of patients with endogenous mental disorders as a basis for communicative resource formation in family where a patient lives. Materials and methods: A total of 273 family caregivers of patients with paranoid schizophrenia and bipolar disorder were involved into this survey under informed consent conditions. Control group included 55 mentally healthy respondents, in whose families there is no mentally sick family member. Emotional intelligence of family caregivers was measured using the psychodiagnostic test “EQ” by N. Hall. To assess level of social intelligence the J. Gilford and M. Sullivan test (in adaptation done by Mikhailova E.S.) was used. Values of p <0.05 were considered significant. Results: The study revealed that family caregivers of patients with schizophrenia and affective disorders demonstrate a decrease in emotional and social intelligence indicators, which creates significant obstacles for effective interpersonal family communication and for the harmonious functioning of a family, in which a mentally sick patient lives, in general. Difficulties of emotional regulation, emotional management, recognition of emotional states of other participants of communication related to the level of emotional and social intelligence of FC are factors, that complicate interpersonal relations in families of patients and reduce possibilities for psychosocial adaptation of all family members. Conclusions: Revealed features should be taken into consideration when creating appropriate psycho-educational and psycho-corrective programs for family caregivers of patients with endogenous mental disorders.


2019 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
pp. 562-567
Author(s):  
Volodymyr K. Likhachov ◽  
Yanina V. Shymanska ◽  
Yulia S. Savelieva ◽  
Viktoriya L. Vashchenko ◽  
Ludmyla М. Dobrovolska

Introduction: During pregnancy in the body of a healthy woman there are physiological and psychological changes that contribute to the bearing a child and prepare the female for future labour and motherhood. In women who experience failure at the stage of fertilization or during pregnancy, as a result of prolonged negative emotional states, psycho-emotional stress develops. The aim of the research was to study the psycho-emotional state of women with infertility in history, whose pregnancy resulted from extracorporal fertilization (IVF), and to develop methods for reducing their anxiety. Materials and methods: At the first stage, the initial psycho-emotional state of 60 women in the second trimester, whose pregnancy resulted from IVF (Group I), was studied; the control group consisted of 20 healthy women with a physiological course of pregnancy (Group II). At the second stage, 10 art therapy exercises with a requestioning of pregnant women from Group I were conducted for improving their psycho-emotional state. Results: Women of Group I had a high level of both situational anxiety (SA) and the personal one (PA). The prevalent type of the psychological component of gestational dominant was anxiety and euphoric types (58.3%). In one third of women with burdened gynecological history examined mild or masked depression was diagnosed. 43 pregnant women from Group I used a method of psychocorrection – art therapy, which included colouring “antistress” pictures of perinatal topic, making flowers from paper and creating a collage of dreams. Conclusions: After the art therapy course, a high level of SA (from 46.5% to 7.0%) and OA (from 48.8% to 32.6%) decreased, the index of the optimal type of the psychological component of gestational dominant increased from 25.6% to 53.5%. The number of women without depression increased from 62.8% to 93%.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document