6 documents found, page 1 of 1
Neuroplasticity-related correlates of environmental enrichment combined with ph...
Kokras, N.; Sotiropoulos, I.; Besinis, D.; Tzouveka, E. L.; Almeida, O. F. X.; Sousa, Nuno; Dalla, C.Environmental enrichment (EE), comprising positive physical (exercise) and cognitive stimuli, influences neuronal structure and usually improves brain function. The promise of EE as a preventative strategy against neuropsychiatric disease is especially high during early postnatal development when the brain is still amenable to reorganization. Despite the fact that male and female brains differ in terms of conne...
The nucleus reuniens: a key node in the neurocircuitry of stress and depression
Kafetzopoulos, V.; Kokras, N.; Sotiropoulos, I.; Oliveira, João F.; Leite-Almeida, Hugo; Vasalou, A.; Sardinha, Vanessa Alexandra MoraisThe hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (PFC) are connected in a reciprocal manner: whereas the hippocampus projects directly to the PFC, a polysynaptic pathway that passes through the nucleus reuniens (RE) of the thalamus relays inputs from the PFC to the hippocampus. The present study demonstrates that lesioning and/or inactivation of the RE reduces coherence in the PFC-hippocampal pathway, provokes an antidepr...
Tau protein is essential for stress-induced brain pathology
Lopes, Sofia; Silva, João Vaz; Pinto, Vítor; Dalla, Christina; Kokras, N.; Bedenk, Benedikt; Mack, Natalie; Czisch, Michael; Almeida, Osborne F. X.Exposure to chronic stress is frequently accompanied by cognitive and affective disorders in association with neurostructural adaptations. Chronic stress was previously shown to trigger Alzheimer's-like neuropathology, which is characterized by Tau hyper-phosphorylation and missorting into dendritic spines followed by memory deficits. Here, we demonstrate that stress-driven hippocampal deficits in wild-type mic...
The positive effect on ketamine as a priming adjuvant in antidepressant treatment.
Almeida, António Manuel Melo Soares; Kokras, N.; Dalla, C.; Ferreira, Ana Catarina; Silva, Ana Paula Ventura; Sousa, Nuno; Pêgo, José M.Ketamine is an anesthetic with antidepressant properties. The rapid and lasting effect of ketamine observed in preclinical and clinical research makes it a promising therapeutic to improve current major depression (MD) treatment. Our work intended to evaluate whether the combined use of classic antidepressants (imipramine or fluoxetine) and ketamine would improve the antidepressant response. Using an animal mod...
Neudesin is involved in anxiety behavior: structural and neurochemical correlates
Novais, Ashley Cruz; Ferreira, Ana C.; Marques, Fernanda; Pêgo, José M.; Cerqueira, João; Pereira, Ana Carla David; Campos, Filipa L.; Dalla, ChristinaNeudesin (also known as neuron derived neurotrophic factor, Nenf) is a scarcely studied putative non-canonical neurotrophic factor. In order to understand its function in the brain, we performed an extensive behavioral characterization (motor, emotional, and cognitive dimensions) of neudesin-null mice. The absence of neudesin leads to an anxious-like behavior as assessed in the elevated plus maze (EPM), light/d...
Citalopram-mediated anxiolysis and differing neurobiological responses in both ...
Kokras, N.; Sotiropoulos, I.; Pitychoutis, P. M.; Almeida, O. F. X.; Papadopoulou-Daifoti, Z.Disorders such as depression and anxiety exhibit strong sex differences in their prevalence and incidence, with women also differing from men in their response to antidepressants. Furthermore, receptors for corticotrophin releasing hormone (CRHR1) and arginine vasopressin receptor subtype 1b (AVPR1b) are known to contribute to the regulation of mood and anxiety. In the present study, we compared the anxiety pro...