Documentos

    TítuloAutorGrupos de TrabajoCategoríasEtiquetas
    ASSOCIATION BETWEEN ATTENDANCE TO PREGAMING EVENTS AND ALCOHOL-RELATED CONSEQUENCES IN ARGENTINEAN YOUTHAngelina Pilatti, Paula Etkin, Eugenia Urioste Parra y Ricardo Marcos PautassiLa previa es una práctica de consumo de alcohol que implica la ingesta de esta sustancia antes de asistir a un evento social, deportivo o musical donde puede, o no, consumirse más alcohol. En este trabajo describimos el perfil de consumo de alcohol de jóvenes asistentes a previas y analizamos la relación entre frecuencia de asistencia a previas y consumo de alcohol con la experimentación de consecuencias negativas, así como la modulación de estas variables por la edad de inicio de consumo. Método. 493 participantes (62.3% mujeres) completaron una encuesta online para determinar la frecuencia de asistencia a previas y cantidad de consumo de alcohol en previas, consumo riesgoso de alcohol, consumo de alcohol durante una semana típica de consumo y durante la semana de consumo más intensa y consecuencias negativas del consumo de alcohol. Resultados. Se encontró una correlación significativa positiva entre frecuencia y cantidad de consumo de alcohol en previas con frecuencia de consumo riesgoso de alcohol y cantidad de problemas experimentados. El efecto de la frecuencia de asistencia a previas sobre la cantidad de consecuencias negativas fue significativo controlando el efecto de otras variables independientes. Conclusiones. Los jóvenes asistentes a previas exhiben un nivel de vulnerabilidad superior al que caracteriza a la población general de jóvenes para el desarrollo de un mayor número de problemas con el alcohol.Paperpregaming; alcohol; negative consequences; youth.
    Early Bilateral And Massive Compromise Of The Frontal LobesAgustín Ibáñeza, Máximo Zimermana, Lucas Sedeñoa, Nicolas Loria, Melina Rapaciolia, Juan F. Cardonag, Diana M.A. Suarezg, Eduar Herrerah, Adolfo M. García, Facundo ManesThe frontal lobes are one of the most complex brain structures involved in both domain-general and specific
    functions. The goal of this work was to assess the anatomical and cognitive affectations from a unique case with
    massive bilateral frontal affectation. We report the case of GC, an eight-year old child with nearly complete
    affectation of bilateral frontal structures and spared temporal, parietal, occipital, and cerebellar regions. We
    performed behavioral, neuropsychological, and imaging (MRI, DTI, fMRI) evaluations. Neurological and neuropsychological
    examinations revealed a mixed pattern of affected (executive control/abstraction capacity) and
    considerably preserved (consciousness, language, memory, spatial orientation, and socio-emotional) functions.
    Both structural (DTI) and functional (fMRI) connectivity evidenced abnormal anterior connections of the
    amygdala and parietal networks. In addition, brain structural connectivity analysis revealed almost complete
    loss of frontal connections, with atypical temporo-posterior pathways. Similarly, functional connectivity showed
    an aberrant frontoparietal network and relative preservation of the posterior part of the default mode network
    and the visual network. We discuss this multilevel pattern of behavioral, structural, and functional connectivity
    results. With its unique pattern of compromised and preserved structures and functions, this exceptional case
    offers new constraints and challenges for neurocognitive theories.    		PaperFrontal lobe; Neurodevelopmental disorders; Attention; Executive function; Language; Social cognition; Consciousness; DTI; MRI; fMRI
    Renatal Ethanol Induces An Anxiety Phenotype And Alters Expression Ofdynorphin & NociceptinAranza Wille-Bille, Roberto Sebastián Miranda-Morales, Mariangela Pucci, Fabio Bellia, Claudio D'Addario, Ricardo Marcos PautassiAnimal models have suggested that prenatal ethanol exposure (PEE) alters the κ opioid receptor system. The present study investigated the brain expression of dynorphin and nociceptin/orphanin FQ related genes and assessed anxiety-like behavior in the light-dark box (LDB), shelter-seeking and risk-taking behaviors in the concentric square field (CSF) test, and ethanol-induced locomotion in the open field (OF), in infant or adolescent Wistar rats that were exposed t PEE (0.0 or 2.0 g/kg, intragastrically, gestational days 17–20). We measured brain mRNA levels of prodynorphin (PDYN), κ opioid receptors (KOR), the nociceptin/orphanin FQ opioid peptide precursor prepronociceptin (ppN/OFQ) and nociceptine/orphanin FQ receptors (NOR). Prenatal ethanol exposure upregulated PDYN and KOR mRNA levels in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) in infant and adolescent rats and KOR mRNA levels in the prefrontal cortex in infant rats. The changes in gene expression in the VTA were accompanied by a reduction of DNA methylation at the PDYN gene promoter, and by a reduction of DNA methylation at the KOR gene promoter. The PEE-induced upregulation of PDYN/KOR in the VTA was accompanied
    by lower NOR gene expression in the VTA, and lower PDYN gene expression in the nucleus accumbens.
    PEE rats exhibited hypolocomotion in the OF, greater avoidance of the white and brightly lit areas in the LDB and CSF, and greater preference for the sheltered area in the CSF test. These results suggest that PEE upregulates the dynorphin system, resulting in an anxiety-prone phenotype and triggering compensatory responses in the nociceptin/orphanin FQ system. These findings may help elucidate the mechanisms that underlie the effects of PEE and suggest that the dynorphin and nociceptin/orphanin FQ systems may be possible targets for the prevention and treatment of PEE-induced alterations.     		PaperPrenatal ethanol; Dynorphin; Nociceptin/orphanin FQ; Infants; Adolescents
    The long-lived Octodon degus as a rodent drug discovery model for Alzheimer's and other age-related diseasesMichael J. Hurley, Robert M.J. Deacon, Katrin Beyer, Elena Ioannou, Agustin Ibáñez, Jessica L. Teeling, Patricia CogramAlzheimer's disease (AD) is a multifactorial progressive neurodegenerative disease. Despite decades of research, no disease modifying therapy is available and a change of research objectives and/or development of novel research tools may be required. Much AD research has been based on experimental models using animals with a short lifespan that have been extensively genetically manipulated and do not represent the full spectrum of late-onset AD, which make up the majority of cases. The aetiology of AD is heterogeneous and involves multiple factors associated with the late-onset of the disease like disturbances in brain insulin, oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, metabolic syndrome, retinal degeneration and sleep disturbances which are all progressive abnormalities that could account for many molecular, biochemical and histopathological lesions found in brain from patients dying from AD. This review is based on the long-lived rodent Octodon degus (degu) which is a small diurnal rodent native to South America that can spontaneously develop cognitive decline with concomitant phospho-tau, β-amyloid pathology and neuroinflammation in brain. In addition, the degu can also develop several
    other conditions like type 2 diabetes, macular and retinal degeneration and atherosclerosis, conditions that are often associated with aging and are often comorbidwith AD. Long-lived animals like the degu may provide a more realistic model to study late onset AD.     		PaperAlzheimer's disease, β-Amyloid, Degu, Neurodegeneration, Neuroinflammation