Article
Psychology, Biological
Jelena M. Wehrli, Yanfang Xia, Samuel Gerster, Dominik R. Bach
Summary: Trace fear conditioning is an important research paradigm for studying aversive learning, but the optimal measurement of memory retention is unclear. This study used psychophysiological measurements to investigate CS+ and CS- differentiation in a recall test, and found that fear-potentiated startle response was the most effective measure.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Mitjan Morr, Jeanine Noell, Daphne Sassin, Jule Daniels, Alexandra Philipsen, Benjamin Becker, Birgit Stoffel-Wagner, Rene Hurlemann, Dirk Scheele
Summary: Loneliness may contribute to vulnerability to intrusive memories after trauma in healthy men, with altered limbic processing of fear signals being a potential underlying mechanism. Lonely men showed more intrusions and altered amygdala activity, while loneliness did not have the same impact on women.
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Gurpreet Manku, Chi-Chon Kong, Martine Culty
Summary: This study reveals the expression regulation and subcellular localization of RING finger protein 149 (RNF149) in gonocytes, and suggests its role in gonocyte proliferation. The study also identifies two variant proteins of RNF149 with different functional domains.
FRONTIERS IN ENDOCRINOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Shihao Huang, Yu Zhou, Feilong Wu, Cuijie Shi, He Yan, Liangpei Chen, Chang Yang, Yixiao Luo
Summary: This study found that berberine combined with extinction training can effectively promote the extinction of fear memories and prevent their reinstatement and spontaneous recovery. This finding provides a new potential avenue for the treatment of fear-related disorders.
FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY
(2022)
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Laura A. Hehl, Brenda A. Schulman
Summary: Tsai et al.1 and Mark et al.2 show that the E3 ligase UBR5 mediates broad regulation by selectively targeting agonist-bound nuclear hormone receptors, MYC, and other transcriptional regulators not incorporated into active gene expression complexes.
Review
Neurosciences
Konstanze Simbriger, Ines S. Amorim, Gilliard Lach, Kleanthi Chalkiadaki, Stella Kouloulia, Seyed Mehdi Jafarnejad, Arkady Khoutorsky, Christos G. Gkogkas
Summary: Contextual fear conditioning is a common behavioral paradigm used in neuroscience research to study the mechanisms of learning and memory. Using ribosome profiling, a study demonstrated that an immediate shock in male mice leads to translational and transcriptional changes in Immediate Early Genes in the dorsal hippocampus, an effect often overlooked in research.
PROGRESS IN NEUROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yuan Xie, Minglei Zhao
Summary: Proper regulation of protein degradation is crucial for cell physiology. In the recent issue of Cell, Baek et al. revealed the assembly and disassembly mechanism of a widely present ubiquitin ligase class called CRL, through a key regulatory protein, CAND1.
Editorial Material
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Asad M. Taherbhoy, Danette L. Daniels
Summary: This article introduces targeted protein degradation (TPD) and proposes multiple strategies using UBR5 as an E3 ligase to drive degradation of key transcriptional targets implicated in disease.
TRENDS IN PHARMACOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Ana Oliveira, Marcia Azevedo, Rafaela Seixas, Raquel Martinho, Paula Serrao, Monica Moreira-Rodrigues
Summary: Adrenaline and glucose released during stress may strengthen contextual fear memory. Glucose can enhance contextual fear memory independently of adrenaline in Ad-deficient mice, possibly through increased gene expression in the hippocampus. Additionally, adrenaline and glucose may act synergistically to strengthen contextual fear memory.
MOLECULAR NEUROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Shiou-Shiow Farn, Kai-Hung Cheng, Yuan-Ruei Huang, Shih-Ying Lee, Jenn-Tzong Chen, Kang-Wei Chang
Summary: Clinical studies have found that the GABA(A) receptor complex plays a crucial role in anxiety modulation. This study successfully synthesized high-purity [F-18]flumazenil using a nucleophilic fluorination method and explored the distribution of GABA(A) receptors in fear-conditioned rats through PET and autoradiography. The results showed a significantly lower accumulation of fear conditioning in anxiety rats in specific brain regions (amygdala, prefrontal cortex, cortex, and hippocampus). This study provides a useful reference method for future research on GABA(A)/BZR receptor drugs.
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Yi-Han Liao, Li-Han Sun, Ya-Hsuan Chan, Chienfang G. Cherng, Yi-Chi Su, Wei-Jen Yao, Lung Yu
Summary: Vicarious learning is crucial for the survival of social animals, and adrenal hormones play a key role in this type of learning. Mice that observe fear conditioning in others exhibit greater fear responses. Adrenalectomy in observers results in lower fear responses.
PSYCHONEUROENDOCRINOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Meng-Shiun Wu, Ting-Wei Liao, Chun-Yuan Wu, Tzu-Han Hsieh, Ping-Chung Kuo, Yue-Chiun Li, Kuan-Chung Cheng, Hsueh-Cheng Chiang
Summary: Animals acquire surrounding information for appropriate behavior through social learning and self-learning. However, the regulatory mechanism of social learning, especially in transmitting aversive conditioning information, is still unknown. This study revealed species-dependent differences in how observer flies process aversive conditioning information acquired from demonstrator flies during social learning. Solitary flies, on the other hand, cannot learn this information through social learning, suggesting it is not an innate behavior.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Wiktor Bilecki, Joachim Latusz, Kinga Gawlinska, Magdalena Chmelova, Marzena Mackowiak
Summary: The study showed that short-term adolescent social isolation did not significantly affect fear memory and anxiety in adult rats, but altered protein levels related to synapse maturation and energy transfer. Additionally, the impact of adolescent social isolation on normally developing brains was different than those with a history of MAM administration.
BEHAVIOURAL BRAIN RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Christina Priest, Rohith T. Nagari, Lara Bideyan, Stephen D. Lee, Alexander Nguyen, Xu Xiao, Peter Tontonoz
Summary: The study illustrates the role of BRAP in modulating the hepatic Hippo pathway by regulating MST2, impacting liver cell morphology and turnover. Loss of BRAP leads to significant morphological changes in the liver, increased hepatocyte proliferation, cell death, and inflammation. The altered Hippo pathway signaling in Brap knockout mice affects liver lipid accumulation in dietary models of obesity, highlighting its relevance to human liver disease.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Joselisa Peres Queiroz de Paiva, A. P. A. Bueno, M. Dos Santos Correa, M. G. M. Oliveira, L. Ferreira, R. V. Fornari
Summary: The study explored the effects of temporary functional inactivation of the anterior and posterior insular cortex (aIC and pIC) on memory consolidation of conditioned fear. The results show that inactivation of the aIC did not affect fear memory consolidation, while inactivation of the pIC impaired tone fear memory consolidation. This suggests that the pIC is necessary for the consolidation of cued-fear memories.
NEUROBIOLOGY OF LEARNING AND MEMORY
(2021)
Article
Biology
Bruno Popik, Felippe Espinelli Amorim, Olavo B. Amaral, Lucas De Oliveira Alvares
Article
Neurosciences
Angel David Arellano Perez, Bruno Popik, Lucas de Oliveira Alvares
Article
Neurosciences
Paula Lunardi, Laura W. de Souza, Bruna dos Santos, Bruno Popik, Lucas de Oliveira Alvares
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Candela Medina, Veronica de la Fuente, Susanne Tom Dieck, Belquis Nassim-Assir, Tamas Dalmay, Ina Bartnik, Paula Lunardi, Lucas de Oliveira Alvares, Erin M. Schuman, Johannes J. Letzkus, Arturo Romano
NEUROBIOLOGY OF LEARNING AND MEMORY
(2020)
Correction
Behavioral Sciences
Jadier Redondo, Bruno Popik, Mirelle Casagrande, Mateus Oliveira Silva, Jorge Alberto Quillfeldt, Lucas de Oliveira Alvares, Tadeu Mello e Souza
NEUROBIOLOGY OF LEARNING AND MEMORY
(2020)
Review
Behavioral Sciences
Lucas de Oliveira Alvares, Fabricio H. Do-Monte
Summary: Memory formation allows organisms to predict future events and adapt their behavior, but it needs to maintain plasticity to stay relevant in changing environments. Consolidated memories can become unstable after reactivation, and processes like extinction and forgetting can also influence memory fate.
NEUROSCIENCE AND BIOBEHAVIORAL REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Maria Florencia Acutain, Jordana Griebler Luft, Cecila Alejandra Vazquez, Bruno Popik, Magali C. Cercato, Alberto Epstein, Anna Salvetti, Diana A. Jerusalinsky, Lucas de Oliveira Alvares, Maria Veronica Baez
Summary: N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors consist of GluN1 obligatory subunits and regulatory subunits like GluN2A and GluN2B, whose expression is tightly regulated and has an impact on learning, memory, and pathologies. By reducing GluN2A expression, changes in GluN2A/GluN2B ratio were observed, leading to impaired memory and increased seizure susceptibility in rats. These findings suggest a role of GluN2A expression deregulation in hippocampal function and neurological disorders.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Ana P. Crestani, Fernanda N. Lotz, Mirelle A. Casagrande, Bruno Popik, Ketlyn T. K. Guerra, Lucas de Oliveira Alvares, Jorge A. Quillfeldt
Summary: Generalization is an adaptive process that allows animals to adapt to threatening circumstances similar to prior experiences. Memory becomes more reliant on cortical structures and independent from the hippocampus through the process of systems consolidation. Sex hormones may impact the speed of generalization. However, there is limited research on sex differences in memory modulation.
BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Henrique Schaan Fernandes, Bruno Popik, Lucas de Oliveira Alvares
Summary: Intracellular calcium stores are important in neuronal calcium homeostasis, and the role of intracellular calcium-release channels in memory processing is significant, especially in contextual fear memory consolidation and retrieval.
NEUROBIOLOGY OF LEARNING AND MEMORY
(2022)
Review
Psychiatry
Lizeth K. Pedraza, Rodrigo O. Sierra, Lucas de Oliveira Alvares
Summary: Fear memory generalisation is a central feature of anxiety and trauma-related disorders, which is closely related to hippocampal dependency during memory retrieval. This review provides an overview of the current understanding of memory generalisation and its potential effects on fear attenuation through pharmacological and behavioral interventions. Based on the systems consolidation framework, maintaining memory precision may be a key step in enhancing therapeutic outcomes.
WORLD JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Bruno Popik, Jordana Griebler Luft, Ketlyn Talise Knak Guerra, Lucas de Oliveira Alvares
Summary: This article introduces the deconditioning-update mechanism related to traumatic experiences and psychiatric conditions. By studying the molecular basis, researchers found that inhibiting ionotropic glutamate receptors, proteases, the endocannabinoid system, and receptors controlling intracellular calcium storage can prevent fear memory update. This study shed new light on the understanding of traumatic memory destabilization mechanisms.