Evidence-Based Teaching Strategies for Behavioral Neuroscience and Biological Psychology Classes

Courses in Behavioral Neuroscience and Biological Psychology were taught while implementing evidence based teaching practices and several additional innovations. Students engaged in think-pair-share activities, group projects, and novel innovations of assignments including incentivized exam re-earns and creating modern memes of neuroscience content. Students exhibited evidence of learning, enjoyment, and teaching effectiveness

Role of BMP9 in chronic liver disease: "in vivo" and "in vitro" studies

Tesis inédita de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Facultad de Farmacia, Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular II, leída el 31-03-2017El hígado realiza numerosas funciones complejas implicadas en el mantenimiento de la homeostasis del organismo. Un aspecto muy característico es su elevada capacidad de regeneración después del daño hepático, que se lleva a cabo por las células parenquimáticas. Sin embargo, si se ve comprometida la capacidad de regeneración de estas células, como en una lesión crónica o en presencia de sustancias que inhiben la proliferación de los de hepatocitos (Falkowski et al. 2003; Marshall et al. 2005), las células progenitoras hepáticas (HPC) son activada para apoyar o asumir el proceso regenerativo. Las HPCs (que son más conocidas en ratones como células ovales) constituyen una población de células bipotenciales del hígado adulto. Durante la patología hepática crónica, se activan, se expanden en el parénquima hepático y se diferencian a colangiocitos y/o hepatocitos para compensar la pérdida celular y ayudar a mantener la homeostasis de hígado, contribuyendo así a la regeneración del hígado en diferentes enfermedades hepáticas (Riehle et al. 2011). Sin embargo, algunas evidencias recientes apoyen el papel pro-fibrogénico de estas células (Kuramitsu et al. 2013); lo que junto al hecho de que estas células pueden ser objeto de una conversión maligna y transformarse en células iniciadoras de tumores (Lee et al. 2009) contribuye a alimentar la polémica sobre cual es el papel real que juegan durante el daño hepático. Ciertamente, una adecuada regulación de estas células en el contexto de la patología hepática crónica podría ser un determinante importante en la respuesta a la lesión hepática y su posterior desenlace. Todo esto anima a estudiar los mecanismos moleculares implicados en el potencial pro-regenerativo o pro-tumorigénico de las HPC, aún poco conocidos. El factor de crecimiento hepático (HGF) y su receptor tirosina quinasa, c-Met son esenciales para promover una eficaz respuesta regenerativa después del daño hepático agudo y crónico, actuando en los hepatocitos así como en las HPC (Borowiak et al. 2004; Huh et al. 2004; Ishikawa et al. 2012). Este papel pro-regenerativo es la consecuencia de sus actividades anti-inflamatorias, anti-fibróticas y anti-apoptóticas. Es interesante destacar que la ausencia de c-Met tiene profundos efectos en las células ovales, afectando múltiples procesos celulares necesarios para la regeneración, incluyendo la proliferación, supervivencia, diferenciación y migración (Ishikawa et al. 2012)...The liver performs many complex functions involved in maintaining the homeostasis of the organism. A very unique aspect is its high regenerative capacity after liver damage, which is carried out by parenchymal cells. However, if the regenerative capacity of these cells is compromised, such as in chronic injury states or in presence of substances inhibiting adult hepatocyte proliferation (Falkowski et al. 2003; Marshall et al. 2005), the hepatic progenitor cells (HPCs) are activated to support or take over the regenerative process. HPCs (better known as oval cells in rodents) constitute a bipotential cell population from adult liver. Under chronic liver disease (CLD), they become activated, expand into liver parenchyma and differentiate into cholangiocytes and/or hepatocytes to compensate for the cellular loss and to help maintain liver homeostasis; therefore contributing to sustain liver regeneration during several hepatic disorders (Riehle et al. 2011). However, recent evidence supports a pro-fibrogenic role for these cells (Kuramitsu et al. 2013); which together with the fact that they can also be target of malignant conversion and become tumor-initiating cells (Lee et al. 2009), adds to the confusion of which is their precise role during liver injury. Certainly, an appropriate regulation of these cells in the context of CLD could be a major determinant of the response to liver injury and its subsequent outcome. This encourages studying the molecular mechanisms involved in the pro-regenerative or pro-tumorigenic potential of the hepatic progenitor cells, still poorly understood. Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and its tyrosine kinase receptor, c-Met, has been demonstrated to be critical for a successful regenerative response after acute and chronic liver damage regulating both hepatocytes and progenitors population (Borowiak et al. 2004; Huh et al. 2004; Ishikawa et al. 2012). This pro-regenerative role is the consequence of its powerful anti-inflammatory, anti-fibrotic and anti-apoptotic activities. Interestingly, absence of c-Met has profound effects in oval cells, affecting multiple cellular processes required for regeneration, including proliferation, survival, differentiation and migration (Ishikawa et al. 2012)...Sección Deptal. de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular (Farmacia)Fac. de FarmaciaTRUEunpu

Psychological distress and growth among young adults following childhood trauma exposure: A latent profile analysis

Psychological distress and growth have received extensive attention within the literature as distinct outcomes; however, the relationship between these two constructs yields mixed findings. The present study examines the patterns of psychological distress (i.e., posttraumatic stress, depression, and anxiety symptoms) and posttraumatic growth among young adults following experiences of childhood trauma. Participants were 341 young adults were completed an online, anonymous survey, including (PDS-5), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7), Posttraumatic Growth (PTG), and demographic information. An LPA was conducted to examine patterns of psychological distress (i.e., posttraumatic stress, depression, and anxiety symptoms) and posttraumatic growth among young adults following experiences of childhood trauma. Results revealed four profiles - High Distress-Moderate Growth, Low Distress-Moderate Growth, Low Distress-High Growth, and Low-Distress-Low Growth. Multinomial logistic regressions were conducted in SPSS to examine whether type of trauma exposure, social support, and sex could predict membership in the latent profiles of distress and growth. Trauma type, social support, and sex did not significantly predict group membership, which is likely a function large standard errors from a relatively small sample. However, the odd ratios for the predictors, often considered a measure of effect size, were notable in many instances, warranting description as they provide important directions for future research. This study advances the literature by expanding upon previous studies that use LPA to examine the co-occurrence of distress and growth, using a more comprehensive approach to distress and trauma type. However, further research is needed to examine a broader range of predictors among more diverse trauma experiences

Laying the groundwork for resilience and success: How a supportive community can protect against the effects of poverty

BACKGROUND: The negative effects of poverty includes increased risks for developmental delays, low academic achievement, poor physical and mental health, and impairments from overall stress (Hair, Hanson, Wolfe, & Pollak, 2015; Evans & Schamberg, 2009), with evidence that impairments continue into adulthood (Duncan, Magnuson, Kalil, & Ziol-Guest, 2012). However, little is known about protective community factors, like mentorship, and their role in the relationship between childhood poverty, academic achievement, and overall life stress. The current study investigated the moderating effects of supportive community mentorship on the association between childhood poverty and overall stress and academic achievement in college.METHODS: Eighty-nine college students completed an online survey that included the following measures: Life Stress Scale (current), Grade Point Average (current), and Community Risk and Resilience questionnaire (retrospective childhood). Moderation analyses were conducted to examine the role of community mentorship on the relationship between childhood poverty and functioning in college, including overall levels of stress and academic achievement (GPA).RESULTS: Results indicated that high levels of mentorship during childhood were associated with higher GPAs among students who experienced low levels of poverty, and lower levels of stress for students coming from all levels of poverty.CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that supportive community mentorship may have helped prepare college students for better academic success and communication skills, as well as better coping mechanisms. Although mentorship promoted higher academic achievement for students coming from low levels of adversity, it may not be sufficient to protect against risks associated with high levels of poverty, and other protective factors should be examined.Robert E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement ProgramPsycholog

Particolare tenuità del fatto e sospensione del procedimento con messa alla prova dell’imputato nell’epoca panpenalistica: paradossi e limiti del sistema penale

Osservando l’attuale sistema politico-istituzionale, si scorge la tendenza a considerare la sanzione penale come l’escamotage più comodo per la soluzione dei principali problemi socio-culturali, i quali, a loro volta, non fanno altro che rafforzare il ruolo promozionale del diritto penale, innescando la sua deriva inflazionistica. Alla incapacità del legislatore di maneggiare i confini mobili della materia penale attraverso la concreta attuazione del principio di sussidiarietà ex ante, si è così cercato di porre rimedio adottando meccanismi di selezione punitiva, compendiati nella politica della «deflazione senza depenalizzazione». Configurata, pertanto, come il fil rouge che alimenta e attraversa le plurime componenti dell’apparato penale, il principio di sussidiarietà, nella sua nuova veste, si manifesta sotto forma di una serie di istituti giuridici che, seppur animati da caratteristiche tra loro estremamente eterogenee, conducono, almeno in astratto, alla medesima conclusione, ossia alla “non punibilità”, finale del tutto distante dalla promessa della tradizionale punizione del reato commesso ed accertato. Ed è proprio qui che si collocano la particolare tenuità del fatto e la sospensione del procedimento con messa alla prova che, pur avendo presupposti e conseguenze giuridiche tra loro differenti, sono accomunate dalla “disapplicazione finalizzata” della pena edittale in astratto prevista dalla legge e dalla contestuale applicazione di misure ugualmente cogenti ed afflittive.Observing the current political-institutional system, one can see the tendency to consider the penal sanction as the most convenient trick for solving the main socio-cultural problems, which, in turn, do nothing but strengthen the promotional role of the criminal law, triggering its inflationary drift. The inability of the legislator to manage the mobile boundaries of criminal matters through the concrete implementation of the principle of ex ante subsidiarity has thus sought to remedy this by adopting punitive selection mechanisms, summarized in the policy of "deflation without decriminalization". Configured, therefore, as the common thread that feeds and crosses the multiple components of the criminal apparatus, the principle of subsidiarity, in its new guise, manifests itself in the form of a series of legal institutions which, although animated by extremely heterogeneous characteristics , lead, at least in the abstract, to the same conclusion, that is to say "non-punishable", a final which is completely distant from the promise of the traditional punishment of the crime committed and ascertained. And it is precisely here that the particular tenuity of the fact and the suspension of the trial with trial are placed which, despite having different assumptions and legal consequences, are united by the "finalized nonapplication" of the abstract penalty imposed by law and by the contextual application of equally binding and afflictive measures

Entrainment enhances theta oscillations and improves episodic memory.

Neural oscillations in the theta band have been linked to episodic memory, but it is unclear whether activity patterns that give rise to theta play a causal role in episodic retrieval. Here, we used rhythmic auditory and visual stimulation to entrain neural oscillations to assess whether theta activity contributes to successful memory retrieval. In two separate experiments, human subjects studied words and were subsequently tested on memory for the words ('item recognition') and the context in which each had been previously studied ('source memory'). Between study and test, subjects in the entrainment groups were exposed to audiovisual stimuli designed to enhance activity at 5.5 Hz, whereas subjects in the control groups were exposed to white noise (Expt. 1) or 14 Hz entrainment (Expt. 2). Theta entrainment selectively increased source memory performance in both studies. Electroencephalography (EEG) data in Expt. 2 revealed that theta entrainment resulted in band-specific enhancement of theta power during the entrainment period and during post-entrainment memory retrieval. These results demonstrate a direct link between theta activity and episodic memory retrieval. Targeted manipulation of theta activity could be a promising new approach to enhance theta activity and memory performance in healthy individuals and in patients with memory disorders