Review
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Caterina Scuderi, Lorenzo Golini
Summary: Canine and feline cognitive dysfunction syndrome is a common neurodegenerative disorder of old age and a natural model of human Alzheimer's disease. With the unavoidable expanding life expectancy, an increasing number of small animals will be affected. Although there is no cure, early detection and intervention are vitally important to delay cognitive decline.
Article
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Yiru Yang, Yaojing Chen, Caishui Yang, Kewei Chen, Xin Li, Zhanjun Zhang
Summary: The results of this large-sample community-based study suggest that it is important for older adults to have abundant early-life cognitive reserve for successful cognitive aging, and to maintain a high level of late-life leisure activity to prevent cognitive impairment.
Article
Neuroimaging
Yixiao Zhang, Shaorui Wang, Luqing Wei, Todd Jackson, Xiao Gao, Mingyue Xiao, Gaolang Go, Hong Chen
Summary: This study identified specific brain resting state differences between successful and unsuccessful restrained eaters in regions related to cognitive control and conflict monitoring, with unsuccessful eaters showing reduced activity in these areas compared to their successful counterparts.
BRAIN IMAGING AND BEHAVIOR
(2021)
Article
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Emma Rhodes, Tania Giovannetti
Summary: The study revealed that grit remains stable throughout older adulthood and is positively associated with successful aging. Consistency of interests plays an adaptive role in all facets of successful aging, while perseverance of effort may have a circumscribed positive effect on physical and emotional well-being in older adults.
AGING & MENTAL HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Qiang Shan, Xiaoxuan Yu, Yao Tian
Summary: This study reveals that the extinction of Pavlovian contextual fear memory is impaired in aged mice, which is associated with a reduction in the efficacy of excitatory synaptic transmission onto the pyramidal neurons of the infralimbic prefrontal cortex (ilPFC). Restoring the reduced excitation can restore contextual fear memory extinction. This finding may potentially contribute to the development of therapeutic approaches for cognitive decline in aging.
JOURNALS OF GERONTOLOGY SERIES A-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND MEDICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Review
Cell Biology
Adriana Caballero, Amanda Orozco, Kuei Y. Tseng
Summary: The prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays critical roles in cognitive and emotional functions, with its intrinsic function defined by the interaction of local neurons and long-range inputs. An increase in GABAergic transmission during adolescence modifies the excitatory-inhibitory ratio in adults, potentially changing the dynamics of PFC networks during the transition to adulthood.
SEMINARS IN CELL & DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Neurosciences
Taylor J. Krivanek, Seth A. Gale, Brittany M. McFeeley, Casey M. Nicastri, Kirk R. Daffner
Summary: Over the past decade, a comprehensive review on promoting successful cognitive aging has been conducted, with some suggestions supported by research. Major health organizations have reached a consensus on recommendations to mitigate cognitive decline and promote healthy cognitive aging. These recommendations include regular physical activity, treatment of cardiovascular risk factors, and cognitively stimulating activities.
JOURNAL OF ALZHEIMERS DISEASE
(2021)
Article
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Jongmin Park, Yunji Lee, Chang Won Won
Summary: This study identified potential biomarkers for successful cognitive aging (SCA) by comparing DNA methylation profiles of SCA and normal cognitive aging (NCA) adults. Significant differences were found in eight differentially methylated genes, with CEND1 and miR885 validated as having significantly different gene expressions between the SCA and NCA groups. These findings provide preliminary evidence for better understanding and assessing cognitive health in aging.
EXPERIMENTAL GERONTOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Vincent T. Marchesi
Summary: The cognitive deficits in aging brains that resemble the early stages of Alzheimer's-type dementia are not caused by toxic protein deposits. Instead, they are caused by somatic mutations that disrupt synaptic signaling. These mutant proteins, which impact neuronal action potentials, could serve as biomarkers for functional defects and open up new possibilities for diagnosis and treatment.
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Jingzheng Yan, Fangyun Luan, Meijuan Wang, Wenshuo Dong, Xinyue Zhang, Mengli Li, Yingjuan Cao
Summary: This study investigated the association of standing balance with cognitive functions and the rate of cognitive decline among middle-aged and older Chinese adults. The results showed that good standing balance was significantly associated with higher cognitive function and a lower decline in mental status and global cognition.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Alexandria N. Weaver, Susanne M. Jaeggi
Summary: Engaging in a variety of activities is associated with better cognitive performance in older adults, with age and years of education being stronger predictors of global cognitive functioning than self-reported activity engagement.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Stephanie M. Muscat, Nicholas P. Deems, Michael J. Butler, Emmanuel A. Scaria, Menaz N. Bettes, Sean P. Cleary, Ross H. Bockbrader, Steven F. Maier, Ruth M. Barrientos
Summary: This study highlights the importance of addressing perioperative neurocognitive disorders (PNDs) and provides evidence that blocking toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) activation can mitigate the cognitive impairment caused by morphine treatment. These findings offer a promising therapeutic target for preventing or treating PNDs.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Dheeraj S. Roy, Ying Zhang, Tomomi Aida, Chenjie Shen, Keith M. Skaggs, Yuanyuan Hou, Morgan Fleishman, Olivia Mosto, Alyssa Weninger, Guoping Feng
Summary: A specific region of the anterior thalamic nuclei plays a key role in spatial working memory tasks in aged mice, and targeting this region may be more beneficial for cognitive functions with fewer unintended effects compared to direct manipulation of the prefrontal cortex. Activation of neurons or circuits in this region can improve working memory, while direct activation of prefrontal cortex neurons may lead to increased anxiety levels in aged mice.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Shuai-Wen Teng, Xin-Rong Wang, Bio-Wen Du, Xiao-Lin Chen, Guan-Zhou Fu, Yun-Fei Liu, Shu-Qi Xu, Jia-Chen Shuai, Zhe-Yu Chen
Summary: This study found that fear memory is primarily expressed in the prelimbic cortex and basolateral amygdala, and the regulation and transformation of fear memory are influenced by the reactivation of original engrams. In addition, memory updating also leads to overlapping between fear and extinction cells, and alters the encoding of original fear engrams. This research provides the first evidence for the overlapping ensembles between fear and extinction cells, and the functional reorganization of original engrams underlying conditioned stimulus- and unconditioned stimulus-initiated memory updating.
Article
Neurosciences
Claude Alain, Ricky Chow, Jing Lu, Rahel Rabi, Vivek V. Sharma, Dawei Shen, Nicole D. Anderson, Malcolm Binns, Lynn Hasher, Dezhong Yao, Morris Freedman
Summary: In humans, age-related declines in vision, hearing, and touch are associated with changes in amplitude and latency of sensory-evoked potentials. These changes in neural activity may be due to a common deterioration of supra-modal brain areas or specific sensorineural impairments that vary between sensory modalities.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Editorial Material
Clinical Neurology
Caroline Menard, Tabrez J. Siddiqui, Derya Sargin, Ashley Lawson, Yves De Koninck, Judy Illes
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Marc Lopez-Cano, Joan Font, Ester Aso, Kristoffer Sahlholm, Gisela Cabre, Jesus Giraldo, Yves De Koninck, Jordi Hernando, Amadeu Llebaria, Victor Fernandez-Duenas, Francisco Ciruela
Summary: Photopharmacology offers a promising approach to improve the benefit/risk profiles of opioid-based drugs. This study successfully developed a morphine photo-derivative that can be activated by light, providing effective analgesia without the occurrence of tolerance or associated opioid-related side effects.
BRITISH JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Guillaume Bilodeau, Gabriel Gagnon-Turcotte, Leonard L. Gagnon, Iason Keramidis, Igor Timofeev, Yves De Koninck, Christian Ethier, Benoit Gosselin
Summary: This study presents a wireless electro-optic platform for simultaneous multimodal electrophysiological recordings and optogenetic stimulation in freely moving rodents. The platform can capture neural action potentials, local field potentials, and electromyography signals with real-time digital signal processing to reduce power consumption. It uses commercial off-the-shelf components and a low-power digital field-programmable gate array for data reduction before transmission.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Editorial Material
Clinical Neurology
Melissa L. Perreault, Malcolm King, Chelsea Gabel, Christopher J. Mushquash, Yves De Koninck, Ashley Lawson, Caterina Marra, Caroline Menard, Jennie Z. Young, Judy Illes
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Candler Paige, Isabel Plasencia-Fernandez, Moeno Kume, Melina Papalampropoulou-Tsiridou, Louis-Etienne Lorenzo, Eric T. David, Lucy He, Galo L. Mejia, Christopher Driskill, Francesco Ferrini, Andrew L. Feldhaus, Leon F. Garcia-Martinez, Armen N. Akopian, Yves De Koninck, Gregory Dussor, Theodore J. Price
Summary: The findings suggest that CGRP promotes pain plasticity in female rodents but has a limited impact in males.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Annemarie Dedek, Jian Xu, Louis-Etienne Lorenzo, Antoine G. Godin, Chaya M. Kandegedara, Genevieve Glavina, Jeffrey A. Landrigan, Paul J. Lombroso, Yves De Koninck, Eve C. Tsai, Michael E. Hildebrand
Summary: This study discovered sexual dimorphism in a central neuronal mechanism of chronic pain, providing a foundational step towards a better understanding and treatment of pain in both sexes.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Shannon Tansley, Ning Gu, Alba Urena Guzman, Weihua Cai, Calvin Wong, Kevin C. Lister, Einer Munoz-Pino, Noosha Yousefpour, R. Brian Roome, Jordyn Heal, Neil Wu, Annie Castonguay, Graham Lean, Elizabeth M. Muir, Artur Kania, Masha Prager-Khoutorsky, Ji Zhang, Christos G. Gkogkas, James W. Fawcett, Luda Diatchenko, Alfredo Ribeiro-da-Silva, Yves De Koninck, Jeffrey S. Mogil, Arkady Khoutorsky
Summary: After peripheral nerve injury, microglia degrade extracellular matrix structures (PNNs) in the spinal cord dorsal horn, enhancing the output of spinal nociceptive circuits and causing pain hypersensitivity.
Editorial Material
Neurosciences
Edward S. Ruthazer, Jean-Claude Beique, Yves De Koninck
FRONTIERS IN NEURAL CIRCUITS
(2022)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Annie LeBlanc, Marie Baron, Patrick Blouin, George Tarabulsy, Francois Routhier, Catherine Mercier, Jean-Pierre Despres, Marc Hebert, Yves De Koninck, Caroline Cellard, Delphine Collin-Vezina, Nancy Cote, Emilie Dionne, Richard Fleet, Marie-Helene Gagne, Maripier Isabelle, Lily Lessard, Matthew Menear, Chantal Merette, Marie-Christine Ouellet, Marc-Andre Roy, Marie-Christine Saint-Jacques, Claudia Savard
Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruptions in various aspects of society and will likely exacerbate existing social and gender health inequalities. The MAVIPAN study aims to document the impact of the pandemic and explore coping strategies among individuals, families, healthcare workers, and health organizations.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Franck Aby, Louis-Etienne Lorenzo, Zoe Grivet, Rabia Bouali-Benazzouz, Hugo Martin, Stephane Valerio, Sara Whitestone, Dominique Isabel, Walid Idi, Otmane Bouchatta, Philippe De Deurwaerdere, Antoine G. Godin, Cyril Herry, Xavier Fioramonti, Marc Landry, Yves De Koninck, Pascal Fossat
Summary: Research has shown that serotonin (5-HT) neurons have a pain-relieving effect in mice who have not experienced pain before, but become pain-promoting in neuropathic pain models. An imbalance in spinal KCC2 function turns this pain relief into pain promotion, but KCC2 enhancers can restore the pain-relieving effect. Additionally, combining selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) with KCC2 enhancers can effectively relieve pain hypersensitivity caused by nerve injury.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
C. Sahara Khademullah, Yves De Koninck
Summary: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the loss of cortical and spinal motor neurons and muscle degeneration. The string-pulling paradigm can detect motor deficits in the SOD1 mouse model of ALS earlier than traditional tasks, and the deficits are correlated with the loss of specific motor neurons.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Noosha Yousefpour, Samantha Locke, Haley Deamond, Chengyang Wang, Lucas Marques, Manon St-Louis, Johanne Ouellette, Arkady Khoutorsky, Yves De Koninck, Alfredo Ribeiro-da-Silva
Summary: Neuropathic pain is a debilitating condition caused by nerve system damage, and the imbalance of spinal excitation and inhibition is believed to contribute to it. Little is known about the structural basis of this imbalance. Through a preclinical model of neuropathic pain, researchers have found that microglia selectively engulf spinal synapses of central neurons but not peripheral sensory neurons. They also discovered that the removal of inhibitory and excitatory synapses occurs in different temporal patterns, with microglia-mediated inhibitory synapse removal happening before excitatory synapse removal. Additionally, they observed a gradual increase in complement depositions on dorsal horn synapses, which corresponds to the temporal pattern of microglial synapse pruning activity and specific synapse loss.
Review
Clinical Neurology
Marco Battaglia, Cornelius B. Groenewald, Fiona Campbell, Simona Scaini, Yves De Koninck, Jennifer Stinson, Patrick D. Quinn
Summary: This article provides a multidisciplinary assessment of the relationships among mental health, chronic pain, prescribing patterns, and the opioid crisis. It highlights the impact of the crisis on young people and emphasizes the role of prescribing patterns as a modifiable hazard factor. It calls for psychiatrists to take a more active role in leading interdisciplinary conversations and addressing the crisis.
JOURNAL OF PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Melina Papalampropoulou-Tsiridou, Stephanie Shiers, Feng Wang, Antoine G. Godin, Theodore J. Price, Yves De Koninck
Summary: This study examined the expression pattern of ASIC1, ASIC2, and ASIC3 mRNA in human dorsal root ganglia neurons using an in situ hybridization approach. The results showed broad expression of ASIC1 and ASIC3 subunits in human primary sensory neurons, contrasting with the expression patterns in rodents. These differences should be considered when evaluating the translational potential of ASIC studies in rodents.
BRAIN COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Calvin Wong, Omer Barkai, Feng Wang, Carolina Thorn Perez, Shaya Lev, Weihua Cai, Shannon Tansley, Noosha Yousefpour, Mehdi Hooshmandi, Kevin C. Lister, Mariam Latif, A. Claudio Cuello, Masha Prager-Khoutorsky, Jeffrey S. Mogil, Philippe Seguela, Yves De Koninck, Alfredo Ribeiro-da-Silva, Alexander M. Binshtok, Arkady Khoutorsky
Summary: The activation of mTORC2 triggered by tissue inflammation causes structural changes in nociceptive free nerve endings, leading to inflammatory pain. Inhibiting the regulatory protein Rictor of mTORC2 can prevent the elongation and branching of nociceptive fibers, reducing inflammatory pain hypersensitivity.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL INVESTIGATION
(2022)