Topic: AMPA/NMDA ratio

Ellagic acid (EA) is a natural compound characterized by neuroprotective potential, although it shows poor pharmacokinetic profile. A valid approach could be delivering the drug in non-ionic surfactant vesicles (NSVs) through the nose to brain (N2B) route. Our aim was to load EA inside NSVs and explore EA-NSVs capability, compared to free-EA, to restore the impairment induced by Aβ1-42 on synaptic plasticity through electrophysiological recordings in ex-vivo model.Empty and loaded NSVs were prepared, and a physicochemical characterization were carried out. We performed field and whole cell pat

Nicotine use during adolescence (ADO) constitutes a risk factor to later develop mood disorders. Yet, the mechanisms underlying the enduring effects of adolescent nicotine exposure remain poorly elucidated. During ADO, the cognitive and goal-directed behaviors are refined in parallel to the development of dopamine (DA) circuitry, and both are uniquely sensitive to disruption by environmental influence during this time. Prolonged nicotine exposure in adult mice favors the appearance of depressive-like symptoms by altering the activity of ventral tegmental area (VTA) DA neurons and nicotinic pat

Contextual fear learning is a mental process, during which an originally neutral context becomes associated with a threat. Previous data have shown that one of the main controlling units of the defensive system, the central amygdala (CeA) is an active participant of contextual fear learning. Recently we showed that vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP)-expressing neurons in the periaqueductal gray and dorsal raphe that innervate the CeA play a role in contextual fear acquisition, but not in the recall. As the primary source of contextual information is the hippocampus, we aimed to uncover th