Neuroscience
-
Review
Virtual reality modulating dynamics of neuroplasticity: Innovations in neuro-motor rehabilitation.
Virtual reality (VR) technology has emerged as a ground-breaking tool in neuroscience, revolutionizing our understanding of neuroplasticity and its implications for neurological rehabilitation. By immersing individuals in simulated environments, VR induces profound neurobiological transformations, affecting neuronal connectivity, sensory feedback mechanisms, motor learning processes, and cognitive functions. These changes highlight the dynamic interplay between molecular events, synaptic adaptations, and neural reorganization, emphasizing the potential of VR as a therapeutic intervention in various neurological disorders. ⋯ Integrating molecular neuroscience with VR technology allows for a deeper understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying neuroplasticity, opening doors to personalized interventions and precise treatment strategies for individuals with neurological impairments. Moreover, the review emphasizes the ethical considerations and challenges that come with implementing VR-based interventions in clinical practice, stressing the importance of data privacy, informed consent, and collaborative interdisciplinary efforts. By leveraging advanced molecular imaging techniques, VR-based research methodologies, and computational modelling, the review envisions a future where VR technology plays a central role in revolutionizing neuroscience research and clinical neurorehabilitation, ultimately providing tailored and impactful solutions for individuals facing neurological challenges.
-
It is becoming increasingly recognized that, in addition to psychological stress, unbalanced maternal nutritional habits can thwart fetal brain development. Maternal obesity is one of the most pressing public health problems facing the world today, as about 40% of pregnant women are obese or gain excessive weight worldwide. ⋯ We argue that maternal Omega-3 supplementation, among the many dietary strategies available, is especially promising as it buffers oxidative stress and inflammation, both recognized as candidate mechanisms underlying the long-term effects of maternal obesity on the offspring. Notwithstanding the current knowledge, both preclinical studies and clinical trials are needed to refine current strategies addressing dietary content and length of administration according to individual characteristics and needs.
-
Estrogens and progesterone can have rapid effects on neuronal function and can modify the use of spatial navigation strategies dependent upon the prefrontal cortex, striatum, and hippocampus. Here, we assessed the effects of 17β-estradiol (E2), progesterone, and its metabolite allopregnanolone, on evoked excitatory postsynaptic potentials in the infralimbic region of the female rat prefrontal cortex. Field excitatory postsynaptic potentials (fEPSPs) evoked by stimulation of layer I were first characterized by recording responses at multiple depths between the cortical surface and the underlying white matter. ⋯ The effects of progesterone were not blocked by the nuclear progesterone receptor antagonist RU486 (1 µM). Both progesterone and allopregnanolone are known to activate membrane progesterone receptors, and we found that the membrane progesterone receptor agonist Org OD 02-0 facilitated EPSPs, and also occluded further increases induced by either progesterone or allopregnanolone. These results provide evidence that both progesterone and allopregnanolone facilitate synaptic responses in layer I of the infralimbic cortex by activating membrane progesterone receptors.
-
In the face of inevitable declines in alertness and fatigue resulting from sleep deprivation, effective countermeasures are essential for maintaining performance. External trigeminal nerve stimulation (eTNS) presents a potential avenue for regulating alertness by activating the locus coeruleus and reticular activating system. ⋯ These findings suggested that 120 Hz eTNS stimulation might induce a relaxing effect, and thereby alleviate fatigue while preserving alertness and cognitive performance.
-
Surgeries are situations that endanger bodily integrity. The concept expressed by the term coined by Sherrington encompasses the perception of noxious stimuli and the organization of response to them. To understand the condition of the brain in which anesthesia is performed it is important to review new results of the neurophysiology of nociception. ⋯ The neural correlations of the common mechanism of action of various anesthetics, i.e., induction of loss of consciousness (LOC), are also described. LOC models only the induction of anesthesia but, to maintain anesthesia, further continuous suppression of nociception is necessary. Understanding all these processes can help us to expand our knowledge of the effect of anesthesia on the brain during surgery.