neural pathways
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Author(s):  
Kelly L. Buchanan ◽  
Laura E. Rupprecht ◽  
M. Maya Kaelberer ◽  
Atharva Sahasrabudhe ◽  
Marguerita E. Klein ◽  
...  

AbstractGuided by gut sensory cues, humans and animals prefer nutritive sugars over non-caloric sweeteners, but how the gut steers such preferences remains unknown. In the intestine, neuropod cells synapse with vagal neurons to convey sugar stimuli to the brain within seconds. Here, we found that cholecystokinin (CCK)-labeled duodenal neuropod cells differentiate and transduce luminal stimuli from sweeteners and sugars to the vagus nerve using sweet taste receptors and sodium glucose transporters. The two stimulus types elicited distinct neural pathways: while sweetener stimulated purinergic neurotransmission, sugar stimulated glutamatergic neurotransmission. To probe the contribution of these cells to behavior, we developed optogenetics for the gut lumen by engineering a flexible fiberoptic. We showed that preference for sugar over sweetener in mice depends on neuropod cell glutamatergic signaling. By swiftly discerning the precise identity of nutrient stimuli, gut neuropod cells serve as the entry point to guide nutritive choices.


2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Octavian Vasiliu

Food addiction is considered an important link for a better understanding of psychiatric and medical problems triggered by dysfunctions of eating behaviors, e. g., obesity, metabolic syndrome, binge eating disorder, or bulimia nervosa. At behavioral level, food addiction has high degrees of similarity with other eating disorders, a phenomenon that creates difficulties in finding specific diagnostic criteria. Food addiction has been also described as “eating addiction” or “eating dependence” by several researchers, who placed the emphasis on the behavior and not on the food itself. High-sodium foods, artificially flavored-foods, rich carbohydrate- and saturated fats-containing foods are triggers for the activation of the same neural pathways, therefore they act similarly to any drug of abuse. Food addiction is considered a disorder based on functional negative consequences, associated distress and potential risks to both psychological well-being and physical health. A clinical scale was validated for the quantification of the eating addiction severity, namely the Yale Food Addiction Severity Scale (YFAS), constructed to match DSM IV criteria for substance dependence. Using this instrument, a high prevalence of food addiction was found in the general population, up to 20% according to a meta-analytic research. The pathogenesis of this entity is still uncertain, but reward dysfunction, impulsivity and emotion dysregulation have been considered basic mechanisms that trigger both eating dysfunctions and addictive behaviors. Genetic factors may be involved in this dependence, as modulators of higher carbohydrate and saturate fat craving. Regarding the existence of potential therapeutic solutions, lorcaserin, antiepileptic drugs, opioid antagonists, antiaddictive agents are recommended for obesity and eating disorders, and they may be intuitively used in food addiction, but clinical trials are necessary to confirm their efficacy. In conclusion, a better understanding of food addiction's clinical profile and pathogenesis may help clinicians in finding prevention- and therapeutic-focused interventions in the near future.


2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher N. Cascio ◽  
Nina Lauharatanahirun ◽  
Gwendolyn M. Lawson ◽  
Martha J. Farah ◽  
Emily B. Falk

AbstractResponse inhibition and socioeconomic status (SES) are critical predictors of many important outcomes, including educational attainment and health. The current study extends our understanding of SES and cognition by examining brain activity associated with response inhibition, during the key developmental period of adolescence. Adolescent males (N = 81), aged 16–17, completed a response inhibition task while undergoing fMRI brain imaging and reported on their parents’ education, one component of socioeconomic status. A region of interest analysis showed that parental education was associated with brain activation differences in the classic response inhibition network (right inferior frontal gyrus + subthalamic nucleus + globus pallidus) despite the absence of consistent parental education-performance effects. Further, although activity in our main regions of interest was not associated with performance differences, several regions that were associated with better inhibitory performance (ventromedial prefrontal cortex, middle frontal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, amygdala/hippocampus) also differed in their levels of activation according to parental education. Taken together, these results suggest that individuals from households with higher versus lower parental education engage key brain regions involved in response inhibition to differing degrees, though these differences may not translate into performance differences.


Author(s):  
Morteza Salimi ◽  
Farhad Tabasi ◽  
Sepideh Ghazvineh ◽  
Hamidreza Jamaati ◽  
Alireza Salimi ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Thiago G Bassi ◽  
Elizabeth C. Rohrs ◽  
Karl C. Fernandez ◽  
Marlena Ornowska ◽  
Michelle Nicholas ◽  
...  

eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing-Tao Meng ◽  
Xian-Yu Liu ◽  
Xue-Ting Liu ◽  
Juan Liu ◽  
Admire Munanairi ◽  
...  

Histamine-dependent and -independent itch is conveyed by parallel peripheral neural pathways that express gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) and neuromedin B (NMB), respectively, to the spinal cord of mice. B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) has been proposed to transmit both types of itch via its receptor NPRA encoded by Npr1. However, BNP also binds to its cognate receptor, NPRC encoded by Npr3 with equal potency. Moreover, natriuretic peptides (NP) signal through the Gi-couped inhibitory cGMP pathway that is supposed to inhibit neuronal activity, raising the question of how BNP may transmit itch information. Here we report that Npr3 expression in laminae I-II of the dorsal horn partially overlaps with NMB receptor (NMBR) that transmits histaminergic itch via Gq-couped PLCb-Ca2+ signaling pathway. Functional studies indicate that NPRC is required for itch evoked by histamine but not chloroquine (CQ), a nonhistaminergic pruritogen. Importantly, BNP significantly facilitates scratching behaviors mediated by NMB, but not GRP. Consistently, BNP evoked Ca2+ responses in NMBR/NPRC HEK 293 cells and NMBR/NPRC dorsal horn neurons. These results reveal a previously unknown mechanism by which BNP facilitates NMB-encoded itch through a novel NPRC-NMBR cross-signaling in mice. Our studies uncover distinct modes of action for neuropeptides in transmission and modulation of itch in mice.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongwon Kim ◽  
Raziyeh Baghi ◽  
Kyung Koh ◽  
Li-Qun Zhang ◽  
Jong-Moon Hwang

Damage in the corticospinal system following stroke produces imbalance between flexors and extensors in the upper extremity including the fingers, eventually leading to flexion-favored postures. The substitution of the reticospinal tract for the damaged corticospinal tract is known to excessively activate flexors of the fingers while the fingers are voluntarily being extended. Here, we questioned whether the cortical source or/and neural pathways of the flexors and extensors of the fingers are coupled and what factor of impairment influences finger movement. In this study, a total of 7 male participants with hemiplegic stroke conducted isometric flexion and extension at the MCP joints in response to auditory tones. We measured activation and de-activation delays of the flexor and extensor of the MCP joints on the paretic side, as well as, force generation and co-contraction between the flexor and extensor. All participants generated greater torque in the direction of flexion (p=0.017). Regarding co-contraction, coupled activation of the extensor is also made during flexion in the similar way to coupled activation of the flexor made during extension. As opposite to our expectation, we observed that during extension, the extensor showed marginally significantly faster activation (p=0.66) while it showed faster de-activation (p=0.038), in comparison to activation and de-activation of the flexor during flexion. But movement smoothness was not affected by those factors. Our results imply that the cortical source and neural pathway for the extensors of the MCP joints are not coupled with those for the flexors of the MCP joints and extensor weakness mainly contributes to the asymmetry between flexors and extensors.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongwon Kim ◽  
Raziyeh Baghi ◽  
Kyung Koh ◽  
Li-Qun Zhang ◽  
Jong-Moon Hwang

Damage in the corticospinal system following stroke produces imbalance between flexors and extensors in the upper extremity including the fingers, eventually leading to flexion-favored postures. The substitution of the reticospinal tract for the damaged corticospinal tract is known to excessively activate flexors of the fingers while the fingers are voluntarily being extended. Here, we questioned whether the cortical source or/and neural pathways of the flexors and extensors of the fingers are coupled and what factor of impairment influences finger movement. In this study, a total of 7 male participants with hemiplegic stroke conducted isometric flexion and extension at the MCP joints in response to auditory tones. We measured activation and de-activation delays of the flexor and extensor of the MCP joints on the paretic side, as well as, force generation and co-contraction between the flexor and extensor. All participants generated greater torque in the direction of flexion (p=0.017). Regarding co-contraction, coupled activation of the extensor is also made during flexion in the similar way to coupled activation of the flexor made during extension. As opposite to our expectation, we observed that during extension, the extensor showed marginally significantly faster activation (p=0.66) while it showed faster de-activation (p=0.038), in comparison to activation and de-activation of the flexor during flexion. But movement smoothness was not affected by those factors. Our results imply that the cortical source and neural pathway for the extensors of the MCP joints are not coupled with those for the flexors of the MCP joints and extensor weakness mainly contributes to the asymmetry between flexors and extensors.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (24) ◽  
pp. 13316
Author(s):  
Rocio Saravia ◽  
Marc Ten-Blanco ◽  
Inmaculada Pereda-Pérez ◽  
Fernando Berrendero

Nicotine, the main psychoactive component in tobacco smoke, plays a major role in tobacco addiction, producing a high morbidity and mortality in the world. A great amount of research has been developed to elucidate the neural pathways and neurotransmitter systems involved in such a complex addictive behavior. The endocannabinoid system, which has been reported to participate in the addictive properties of most of the prototypical drugs of abuse, is also implicated in nicotine dependence. This review summarizes and updates the main behavioral and biochemical data involving the endocannabinoid system in the rewarding properties of nicotine as well as in nicotine withdrawal and relapse to nicotine-seeking behavior. Promising results from preclinical studies suggest that manipulation of the endocannabinoid system could be a potential therapeutic strategy for treating nicotine addiction.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
RuiFeng Yeo

<p><b>The success of stroke rehabilitation requires the patient engage in early, long-term high repetitions and intensive treatment. When comparing clinical and literature statistics, it is confirmed that clinical rehabilitation is not achieving required repetitions and intensity for effective rehabilitation of basic motor skills as prescribed in physiotherapy literature. It is then the patient’s responsibility to carry out the rehabilitation at home without supervision. These exercises can also be very mundane and repetitive, which reduces the patient’s motivation to exercise. Exergames have been found (Alankus et al., 2010, p. 21130, (King, Hijmans, Sampson, Satherley, & Hale, 2012 Deutsch et al., 2009), (Mortazavi et al., 2014), (Shirzad et al., 2015).to improve patients’ engagement with their therapies at home.</b></p> <p>Currently there are systems to facilitate lower limb stroke rehabilitation,but none includes Strength for Task Training (STT). STT is a novel physiotherapeutic method for lower limb rehabilitation and comprises of two main phases: first being the strength training (priming) and second being the task training. Priming is brief weight lifting to excite the neural pathways (neuroplasticity) in the affected region, which primes the brain for learning; this is then promptly followed by task training to maximise gains in the locomotor ability.</p> <p>This project builds up on the research and development of a game controller by Duncan (2016) for lower limb stroke rehabilitation to facilitate STT. This project is a collaboration with Regan Petrie who designed the media aspect of the exergame system.</p> <p>A game controller was developed and this was part of a complete exergaming system which was designed to specifically facilitate STT. This project compiles more research findings together with feedback from the user and the clinicians to help improve the system. This was to ensure that the design is aligned to the specific requirements of functional STT rehabilitation and contextual needs of the patient.</p> <p>The final output is a pair of prototype shoes which included a sensor to measure movement, a pair of weighted sleeve and a pair of balance sole. The weighted sleeve has removable weights and facilitates the strength part of the training. The shoes are the adaptors which allow the user to the balance soles which is used to constantly challenge the user’s balance. The sensors translate limb movement and are for the user to interact with the game. This system provides a simple and safe method to engage in unsupervised STT.</p> <p>Feedback from clinicians indicates that the shoes can facilitate the strength part of the exercise, the sensors the task part of the training, and the balance sole is useful for challenging and improving balance. User testing sessions offer information about: the usability of the system, including ease of use and intuitive design; the aesthetics of the physical objects and whether the system is engaging patients in their therapies.</p>


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