Neuroscience
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Given their anti-inflammatory properties, cannabinoids have been shown to be neuroprotective agents and to reduce excitotoxicity, through the activation of the Cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1r). These properties have led to CB1r being proposed as pharmacological targets for the treatment of various neurodegenerative diseases. Amyloid-β 25-35 (Aβ25-35) induces the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and increases nitric oxide (NO●) levels. ⋯ Moreover, ACEA plus Aβ(25-35) prevented both the increase in iNOS protein and NO● levels and the reactive gliosis induced by Aβ(25-35). Importantly, neurodegeneration was significantly reduced by the administration of ACEA plus Aβ(25-35) in the CA1 subfield of the hippocampus. The data obtained in the present research suggest that the acute early activation of CB1r is crucial for neuroprotection.
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The influence of neuroinflammation in the development and progression of Parkinson's disease (PD) remains unknown. Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a multipotent and key cytokine involved in the pathogenesis of acute and chronic inflammatory and immune disorders. The aim of this study was to investigate the neuroprotective effects mediated by MIF in PD. ⋯ Upregulating MIF expression resulted in a higher concentration of LC3B-II than the control group (P < 0.001). Finally, LC3 puncta were markedly increased in the MIF upregulated group and in the MIF + MPP+ group. This study indicates that MIF mediates a neuroprotective effect via suppressing inflammatory responses, inhibiting apoptosis and inducing autophagy in PD.
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We studied eye and body movements in 16 healthy young adults who performed visual tasks in upright stance. Our objective was to investigate whether these movements could be functionally related to each other when performing a precise visual task requiring large ecological gaze shifts. We also questioned the influence of an additional counting task on these relations. ⋯ The subjective cognitive involvement (significantly higher in searching than in free-viewing and gaze-fixation) was significantly related to all (100%) and to half (50%) of these previous correlations in search-counting and searching, respectively. Complementarily, the participants rotated their segments and oscillated more in searching than free-viewing and more in both tasks than in gaze-fixation. This study confirmed that precise visual tasks may require the brain to control synergistic relations between eye and body movements instead of individual eye and body movements.
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Turning elicits Freezing of Gait (FoG) episodes in people with Parkinson's disease (PD) and is thought to require higher cortical control compared to straight ahead gait. Functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) has been used to examine prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity while walking, but the relationship between PFC activity and turn performance remains unclear. The aim of this pilot study was to examine PFC activity during turning in PD and healthy controls, and to investigate the association between PFC activity and turning. ⋯ In addition, higher PFC is associated with worse FoG in PD + FoG (r = 0.57, p = .048) and with lower number of turns in PD - FoG (r = -0.70, p = .002). The increased PFC activity in PD and the association between higher PFC activity and poorer turning performance may be a sign of poor movement automaticity in PD. Although further investigations are required, these pilot findings may guide development of personalized treatments to improve motor automaticity in PD.