Aprendizaje en la tarea de evitación de un solo sentido: diferencias entre machos y hembras genéticamente seleccionados

Las ratas romanas de alta (RHA) y baja (RLA) evitación fueron seleccionadas, respectivamente, por su alta o baja capacidad para adquirir la respuesta de evitación en dos sentidos, estando estas diferencias moduladas por el sexo y por experiencias ambientales diversas. En este estudio se expuso a ratas romanas consanguíneas machos y hembras a una tarea de evitación en un solo sentido en la que se manipuló el tiempo de permanencia en el compartimento de seguridad. En la fase de pre-cambio los sujetos permanecieron 30 s vs 1 s en este compartimento; en la fase de post-cambio este tiempo fue devaluado en los grupos 30-1 (contraste sucesivo negativo). En ambas fases aparecieron diferencias de cepa sólo en las hembras, siendo la ejecución de las ratas RLA-I inferior a la de las RHA-I. Estos resultados sugieren que la conducta de evitación depende de la interacción entre genes, sexo y tiempo en seguridad. Palabras claves: Ratas romanas; Ansiedad; Evitación; Sexo. One-way avoidance learning: Differences between genetically selected males and females: The Roman high- (RHA) and low- (RLA) avoidance rats were selected, respectively, for good vs. poor acquisition of two-way active avoidance, these behavioral differences being modulated by sex and environmental influences. In this study, inbred male and female Roman rats were exposed to a one-way avoidance task in which the time spent in the safe compartment was manipulated in two phases. In the pre-shift phase, animals were exposed to 30 s vs. 1 s in safety. In the post-shift phase, the time in safety was devaluated for Groups 30-1 (successive negative contrast). The results showed that, in both phases, strain differences were observed only in female rats, the RLA-I strain being poorer than the RHA-I strain. The present data show an interaction among genes, sex, and time in safety that influences one-way avoidance behavior.Key Words:Roman rats; Anxiety; Avoidance; Sex Differences

Conflict between Threat Sensitivity and Sensation Seeking in the Adolescent Brain : Role of the Hippocampus, and Neurobehavioural Plasticity Induced by Pleasurable Early Enriched Experience

Adolescence is characterized both by the exacerbation of the experience of anxiety, fear or threat, on one hand, and by increased reward seeking (reward sensitivity) and risk taking on the other hand. The rise of these apparently opposite processes, i.e., threat-related anxiety and reward-related sensation seeking, seems to stem from a relatively decreased top-down inhibition of amygdala and striatal circuits by regulatory systems (e.g., prefrontal cortex, hippocampus) that mature later. The present commentary article aims to discuss recent related literature and focusses on two main issues: (i) the septo-hippocampal system (in particular the ventral hippocampus) might be a crucial region for the regulation of approach-avoidance conflict and also for the selection of the most appropriate responses during adolescence, and (ii) developmental studies involving early-life pleasurable-enriched experience (as opposed to early-life adversity) might be a useful study paradigm in order to decipher whether neuroplasticity induced by such experiences (for example, in the hippocampus and associated circuitry) may lead to better top-down inhibition and more "balanced" adolescent responses to environmental demands

Integración e interacciones entre los tratamientos farmacológicos y psicológicos de las adicciones : una revisión

Los tratamientos principales aplicados en el ámbito de las adicciones son la farmacoterapia y las terapias psicológicas, siendo escasas las intervenciones en las que se combinan estos dos tipos de terapias. El objetivo de este estudio es revisar y mostrar un resumen de los resultados de las principales investigaciones, que han evaluado la efectividad de la intervención combinada de estas terapias en comparación con la aplicación de los tratamientos administrados de forma aislada. Los resultados muestran que la aplicación combinada de tratamientos farmacológicos y psicológicos, presenta mayor efecto terapéutico y de prevención de recaídas, superando en parte las limitaciones que presentan estos dos tipos de tratamientos en su aplicación aisladaThe main therapies applied to treat substance abuse or addictions are pharmacotherapy and psychological therapies, with few interventions that combine these two types of therapies. The aim of the present study is to review and to summarize the main results of research devoted to evaluate the effectiveness of the combined action of these therapies, as compared to the effectiveness of each type of treatment administered alone. The results show that the combined application of pharmacological and psychological treatments has a greater therapeutic effect and relapse prevention, thus overcoming some of the limitations of these two types of treatments when administrated alon

Modelos animales en psicopatología y psicofarmacología : del análisis experimental de la conducta a la neurogenética

En los primeros apartados del presente trabajo se consideran las diversas disciplinas que han motivado el desarrollo de los modelos animales, así como la aportación de éstos al progreso de las mismas. A continuación se exponen los criterios de validez predictiva, aparente, de constructo y convergente por los que se rige la validación de los modelos animales, al tiempo que se plantea la necesidad de considerar también un criterio de consistencia-fiabilidad en el uso e interpretación de los resultados experimentales, lo cual se ilustra con un ejemplo. Seguidamente, el contínuo progreso que experimentan los modelos animales en función del rápido avance científico en determinadas líneas de investigación se ilustra con la aparición y/o cambios de procedimiento de modelos de ansiedad, estrés o aprendizaje. Finalmente, se presenta una tabla resumen de los modelos animales más utilizados en el estudio de las principales psicopatologías y se comentan algunos modelos psicogenéticos, farmacogenéticos y neurogenéticosThe contributions of different scientific disciplines to the progress of the animal models, as well as the need of such models for the development of those areas, are considered in the first part of the present work. Criteria for validating animal models of human (normal and abnormal) behavior, such as predictive, face, construct and convergent validities, in addition to a new suggested criterion concerning the consistency/reliability in the use of the models and interpretation of the data, are discussed. In considering the progress of animal models, different examples regarding the development of certain analogues of anxiety, stress and learning are presented. Finally, the most used models for the main psychopatological categories are summarized in a table, and some psychogenetic, pharmacogenetic and neurogenetic models are commente

Aprendizaje en la tarea de evitación de un solo sentido: diferencias entre machos y hembras genéticamente seleccionados

The Roman high- (RHA) and low- (RLA) avoidance rats were selected, respectively, for good vs. poor acquisition of two-way active avoidance, these behavioral differences being modulated by sex and environmental influences. In this study, inbred male and female Roman rats were exposed to a one-way avoidance task in which the time spent in the safe compartment was manipulated in two phases. In the pre-shift phase, animals were exposed to 30 s vs. 1 s in safety. In the post-shift phase, the time in safety was devaluated for Groups 30-1 (successive negative contrast). The results showed that, in both phases, strain differences were observed only in female rats, the RLA-I strain being poorer than the RHA-I strain. The present data show an interaction among genes, sex, and time in safety that influences one-way avoidance behavior.Las ratas romanas de alta (RHA) y baja (RLA) evitación fueron seleccionadas, respectivamente, por su alta o baja capacidad para adquirir la respuesta de evitación en dos sentidos, estando estas diferencias moduladas por el sexo y por experiencias ambientales diversas. En este estudio se expuso a ratas romanas consanguíneas machos y hembras a una tarea de evitación en un solo sentido en la que se manipuló el tiempo de permanencia en el compartimento de seguridad. En la fase de pre-cambio los sujetos permanecieron 30 s vs 1 s en este compartimento; en la fase de post-cambio este tiempo fue devaluado en los grupos 30-1 (contraste sucesivo negativo). En ambas fases aparecieron diferencias de cepa sólo en las hembras, siendo la ejecución de las ratas RLA-I inferior a la de las RHA-I. Estos resultados sugieren que la conducta de evitación depende de la interacción entre genes, sexo y tiempo en seguridad.

One-way avoidance learning: Differences between genetically selected males and females

The Roman high- (RHA) and low- (RLA) avoidance rats were selected, respectively, for good vs. poor acquisition of two-way active avoidance, these behavioral differences being modulated by sex and environmental influences. In this study, inbred male and female Roman rats were exposed to a one-way avoidance task in which the time spent in the safe compartment was manipulated in two phases. In the pre-shift phase, animals were exposed to 30 s vs. 1 s in safety. In the post-shift phase, the time in safety was devaluated for Groups 30-1 (successive negative contrast). The results showed that, in both phases, strain differences were observed only in female rats, the RLA-I strain being poorer than the RHA-I strain. The present data show an interaction among genes, sex, and time in safety that influences one-way avoidance behavior