Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Uri Bright, Irit Akirav
Summary: This study examined the antidepressant effects of CBD and its association with alterations in brain microRNAs. The results suggest that CBD can restore the expression of certain microRNAs and genes related to depression in the brain, which are mediated by the 5HT1a receptor.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Annalise N. Binette, Jianfeng Liu, Hugo Bayer, Kennedi L. Crayton, Laila Melissari, Samantha O. Sweck, Stephen Maren
Summary: Stress has a significant impact on fear extinction and affects the activity of PV interneurons in the mPFC. PV interneurons regulate extinction learning under stress in a sex-dependent manner, and this effect is mediated by amygdaloprefrontal projections.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Psychiatry
Arthur A. Coelho, Carla Vila-Verde, Ariandra G. Sartim, Daniela L. Uliana, Laura A. Braga, Francisco S. Guimaraes, Sabrina F. Lisboa
Summary: Stress exposure can lead to proinflammatory changes in the brain, including overexpression of iNOS in the mPFC. The ECB system is also influenced by stress and may act as a counter regulatory mechanism. This study suggests that iNOS inhibition may attenuate stress effects by facilitating local endocannabinoid signaling.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHIATRY
(2022)
Article
Biology
Ye Wang, Zijian Zhu, Jingchu Hu, Daniela Schiller, Jian Li
Summary: Conscious thought active suppression eliminates learned fear responses, while thought diversion only reduces cue-specific fear response. This suggests that declarative control mechanisms could be utilized for treating persistent maladaptive memories.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Xinyou Lv, Junjie Zhang, Ti-Fei Yuan
Summary: Disrupting drug-associated memory reduces relapse, and transient memory retrieval facilitates the extinction of addiction memory. AMPA receptor trafficking is identified as the central component for retrieval-extinction-based drug memory intervention.
Article
Neurosciences
Daniela Lescano Uliana, Cassiano Ricardo Alves Faria Diniz, Leandro Antero da Silva, Anna Barbara Borges-Assis, Sabrina Francesca Lisboa, Leonardo Barbosa Moraes Resstel
Summary: Rats re-exposed to a previously shocking environment display conditioned defensive responses, which are controlled by the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and involve multiple neurotransmitter pathways. This study found that the administration of specific inhibitors and antagonists in the vmPFC prevented the increase in conditioned responses, suggesting the involvement of cholinergic, cannabinergic, and glutamatergic/nitrergic neurotransmissions.
Article
Neurosciences
Hugo Bayer, Cristina A. J. Stern, Fernanda Troyner, Lucas Gazarini, Francisco S. Guimaraes, Leandro J. Bertoglio
Summary: Growing evidence suggests that cannabidiol (CBD) may have therapeutic potential in regulating abnormal emotional memories. CBD can attenuate the value of abnormal emotional memories or enhance their suppression. The mechanisms through which CBD exerts its effects may involve the modulation of brain activity and plasticity.
Article
Biology
Geoffrey W. Diehl, A. David Redish
Summary: Decision-making requires different aspects of information and involves multiple cognitive processes. The rodent medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is believed to play a central role in these abilities. Previous studies on mPFC function have yielded controversial results, but this study with rats performing an economic decision task revealed four distinct functional domains within mPFC, closely related to anatomical subregions. Dorsal mPFC regions were more involved in processing active decisions, while ventral regions were more engaged in motivational factors.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Francesca Mottarlini, Marco Fumagalli, Fernando Castillo-Diaz, Stefano Piazza, Giorgia Targa, Enrico Sangiovanni, Barbara Pacchetti, Mikael H. Sodergren, Mario Dell'Agli, Fabio Fumagalli, Lucia Caffino
Summary: CBD can be found in the rat brain, specifically in the medial prefrontal cortex, and has a dose-dependent modulation of BDNF, suggesting its potential therapeutic value in psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Che Jiang, Xiaona Wu, Jiajia Wang, Chunyong Li, Gaoquan Luo
Summary: According to the reconsolidation theory, the rodent perirhinal cortex (PER) plays a critical role in fear conditioning, and previous studies have shown that protein synthesis in PER is necessary for memory reconsolidation. The activation of the CB1 pathway is also required for inducing memory destabilization, highlighting the involvement of parahippocampal regions in fear memory destabilization and reconsolidation processes.
BEHAVIOURAL BRAIN RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Hotaka Fukushima, Yue Zhang, Satoshi Kida
Summary: Memory reconsolidation is believed to enhance original memories by activating gene expression in the amygdala, mPFC, and hippocampus. Interactions between the amygdala and mPFC as upstream regulators of the hippocampus play a crucial role in enhancing inhibitory avoidance memory. Blocking these regions post-memory retrieval inhibits memory enhancement and the induction of c-Fos, indicating their importance in reconsolidating memory.
Article
Neurosciences
Weronika Szadzinska, Konrad Danielewski, Kacper Kondrakiewicz, Karolina Andraka, Evgeni Nikolaev, Marta Mikosz, Ewelina Knapska
Summary: Fear extinction training gradually changes the vHIP-PL connectivity, allowing for fear suppression. In the absence of fear suppression from the vHIP, signals from the BL play a dominant role, resulting in heightened fear levels.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Paula Kaanders, Hamed Nili, Jill X. O'Reilly, Laurence Hunt
Summary: In this study using fMRI, researchers investigate the neural basis of information sampling in economic choice. The activity of the medial frontal cortex (MFC) was found to predict further information sampling, while a distributed network of regions across the prefrontal cortex encoded key features of the sampled information.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Jessica A. Babb, Agnieszka Zuberer, Stephen Heinrichs, Kendra K. Rumbika, Lauren Alfiler, Gabrielle A. Lakis, Kimberly A. Leite-Morris, Gary B. Kaplan
Summary: Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) frequently co-occur in both military and civilian populations. In a mouse model of mTBI, fear learning and neural systems involved in fear extinction were examined. LFP 1.7 mice demonstrated within-session aberrant fear extinction and alterations in brain morphology and dendritic plasticity.
BRAIN RESEARCH BULLETIN
(2023)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Congwu Du, Yueming Hua, Kevin Clare, Kicheon Park, Craig P. Allen, Nora D. Volkow, Xiu-Ti Hu, Yingtian Pan
Summary: Individuals with substance use disorder are at a higher risk of contracting HIV and progressing to AIDS. Neurotoxicity and neurodegeneration are characteristic of HIV-1-associated neurocognitive disorders. Studies have found that cocaine potentiates the neurotoxic effects of HIV-associated proteins. The NMDA antagonist drug memantine shows potential in attenuating the neurotoxicity caused by cocaine and HIV.
FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Lia P. Iglesias, Heliana B. Fernandes, Aline S. de Miranda, Malena M. Perez, Lucia H. Faccioli, Carlos A. Sorgi, Leandro J. Bertoglio, Daniele C. Aguiar, Carsten T. Wotjak, Fabricio A. Moreira
Summary: This study found that hippocampal TRPV1 channels play a role in the modulation of fear memories. Endocannabinoid signaling may mediate the effects of TRPV1 blockers. The intensity of the aversive stimulus affects the regulation of fear memories by TRPV1 channels. TRPV1 blockers also promote the transcription of specific genes, leading to a decrease in fear memory reinstatement.
Article
Neurosciences
Jaqueline M. Franzen, Isabel Werle, Felipe Vanz, Bruno Biscaia de Oliveira, Laura Maria Martins Nascimento, Francisco S. Guimaraes, Leandro J. Bertoglio
Summary: Growing evidence suggests that cannabidiol (CBD) modulates aversive memories and anxiety-related responses in females. This has therapeutic implications for treating anxiety and stress-related disorders in women. Studies in adult female rats show that CBD can attenuate the behavioral manifestations of learned fear and anxiety.
Article
Psychiatry
Andreza M. Cavichioli, Thamyris Santos-Silva, Anthony A. Grace, Francisco S. Guimaraes, Felipe Gomes
Summary: This study suggests that levetiracetam can attenuate the adverse outcomes associated with schizophrenia caused by stress during adolescence, by reversing the behavioral changes, ventral hippocampus hyperactivity, and enhanced ventral tegmental area dopamine system activity.
SCHIZOPHRENIA BULLETIN
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Yane Costa Chaves, Ana Maria Raymundi, Ana Paula Farias Waltrick, Jose Alexandrede Souza Crippa, Cristina Aparecida Jark Stern, Joice Maria da Cunha, Janaina Menezes Zanoveli
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the effects of cannabidiol (CBD) on contextual fear memory consolidation, generalization, and anxiety-like responses in animals with experimentally induced type-1 diabetes mellitus. The results showed that CBD can impair the consolidation and generalization of fear memory and reduce the expression of activity-regulated cytoskeletal-associated (Arc) protein in the hippocampus. Moreover, prolonged treatment with CBD also reduced the persistence of context-conditioned fear memory and induced an anxiolytic-like effect.
ACTA NEUROPSYCHIATRICA
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Danielle Diniz Aguiar, Cristina da Costa Oliveira, Flavia Cristina Sousa Fonseca, Douglas Lamounier de Almeida, William Valadares Campos Pereira, Francisco Silveira Guimara, Andrea Castro Perez, Igor Dimitri Gama Duarte, Thiago Roberto Lima Romero
Summary: This study evaluated the analgesic effects of CBD when administered peripherally for the treatment of acute neuropathic pain, and investigated the involvement of the 5-HT1A and TRPV1 receptors. The results showed that CBD induced dose-dependent antinociceptive effects, with the highest potency observed at a dose of 30 mu g/paw. Furthermore, selective antagonists of the 5-HT1A and TRPV1 receptors partially reversed the antinociceptive effects of CBD.
BIOCHEMICAL AND BIOPHYSICAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Ana Maria Raymundi, Jeferson Machado Batista Sohn, Bruna Wuilleumier Salemme, Nathalie Carla Cardoso, Francisco Silveira Guimaraes, Cristina Aparecida Stern
Summary: Cannabis preparations could be an effective treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. The study found that THC has a bidirectional effect on fear memory labilization, and this effect is associated with the involvement of hippocampal GluN2B-NMDA receptors.
Review
Behavioral Sciences
Lucas Gazarini, Cristina A. J. Stern, Leandro J. Bertoglio
Summary: Fear conditioning and avoidance tasks reveal adaptive aversive memories, while traumatic memories are more intense, generalized, inflexible, and resistant to strategies for weakening through extinction and reconsolidation. Analyzing over 350 studies on adult rats and mice, the use of stressful conditions, aversive training, and administration of drugs to induce neurochemical or epigenetic alterations in the aftermath of trauma could provide insights into posttraumatic stress disorder's neurobiology and potential treatments.
NEUROSCIENCE AND BIOBEHAVIORAL REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Bruna Wuilleumier Salemme, Ana Maria Raymundi, Jeferson Machado Batista Sohn, Cristina Aparecida Stern
Summary: Sex differences in the response to cannabinoids in anxiety-like behavior are influenced by hormone levels, mainly estradiol. The levels of endocannabinoids (eCBs) in specific brain areas vary according to sex and estrous cycle phase (ECP). Modulation of AEA and 2-AG levels elicits anxiety-like responses, with females being more sensitive than males.
CANNABIS AND CANNABINOID RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Mauricio dos Santos Pereira, Bruna Maitan Santos, Rocio Gimenez, Francisco Silveira Guimaraes, Rita Raisman-Vozari, Elaine Del Bel, Patrick Pierre Michel
Summary: Research found that 4'-F-CBD and HU-910, two synthetic cannabinoids, have anti-inflammatory potential and may have therapeutic utility in treating neuroinflammatory conditions.
Article
Psychiatry
Thamyris Santos-Silva, Dogukan Hazar Ulgen, Caio Fabio Baeta Lopes, Francisco S. Guimaraes, Luciane Carla Alberici, Carmen Sandi, Felipe V. Gomes
Summary: Adolescent individuals show significant diversity in cortical dynamics and behavioral outcomes. The developing adolescent brain is sensitive to social experiences and environmental insults, which can influence the emergence of personality traits. Mitochondria play a crucial role in brain maturation and the development of mental illnesses, with specific mitochondrial features in certain brain regions accounting for behavioral differences in adulthood. This study investigates whether distinct adolescent behavioral phenotypes and the consequences of early adolescent stress exposure are associated with changes in PFC mitochondria-related genes and respiratory chain capacity.
TRANSLATIONAL PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Ligia RenataRodrigues Tavares, Daniela Baptista-de-Souza, Lucas Canto-de-Souza, Cleopatra da Silva Planeta, Francisco Silveira Guimaraes, Ricardo Luiz Nunes-de-Souza, Azair Canto-de-Souza
Summary: Living with a partner experiencing chronic pain can lead to pain hypersensitivity and increased expression of 5-HT3 receptor and glutamic acid decarboxylase 67 in the amygdala. The anxiolytic benzodiazepine midazolam (MDZ) and cannabidiol (CBD) can attenuate this hypersensitive behavior, while the 5-HT3 receptor antagonist ondansetron can prevent their antinociceptive effects. These findings suggest that 5-HT3 receptor and GABAergic mechanisms in the amygdala play a role in pain hypersensitivity induced by empathy for pain, and that MDZ and CBD may be potential therapies for emotional pain disorders.
CANNABIS AND CANNABINOID RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Pedro Henrique Gobira, Jacob LaMar, Jade Marques, Ariandra Sartim, Kennia Silveira, Luana Santos, Gregers Wegener, Francisco S. Guimaraes, Ken Mackie, Hui-Chen Lu, Samia Joca
Summary: This study investigates the involvement of cannabinoid type 1 receptors (CB1R) in the antidepressant and psychostimulant effects induced by ketamine. The results suggest that CB1R mediate the psychostimulant side effects of ketamine, but do not play a role in its antidepressant properties. Furthermore, pharmacological blockade of CB1R has similar antidepressant effects, but does not potentiate the effects of ketamine.
CANNABIS AND CANNABINOID RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Hannah Meijs, Helena Voetterl, Alexander T. Sack, Hanneke van Dijk, Bieke De Wilde, Jan Van Hecke, Peter Niemegeers, Evian Gordon, Jurjen J. Luykx, Martijn Arns
Summary: This study used a polygenic score (PGS) and electroencephalography (EEG) data analysis to identify potential predictors for treatment outcomes in major depressive disorder (MDD). The results suggest the existence of a stable EEG network related to antidepressant-response that has potential as a predictor for MDD treatment, particularly in the case of venlafaxine.
EUROPEAN NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
(2024)