Adenosine A2A receptor modulation of hippocampal CA3-CA1 synapse plasticity during associative learning in behaving mice

© 2009 Nature Publishing Group All rights reservedPrevious in vitro studies have characterized the electrophysiological and molecular signaling pathways of adenosine tonic modulation on long-lasting synaptic plasticity events, particularly for hippocampal long-term potentiation(LTP). However, it remains to be elucidated whether the long-term changes produced by endogenous adenosine in the efficiency of synapses are related to those required for learning and memory formation. Our goal was to understand how endogenous activation of adenosine excitatory A2A receptors modulates the associative learning evolution in conscious behaving mice. We have studied here the effects of the application of a highly selective A2A receptor antagonist, SCH58261, upon a well-known associative learning paradigm - classical eyeblink conditioning. We used a trace paradigm, with a tone as the conditioned stimulus (CS) and an electric shock presented to the supraorbital nerve as the unconditioned stimulus(US). A single electrical pulse was presented to the Schaffer collateral–commissural pathway to evoke field EPSPs (fEPSPs) in the pyramidal CA1 area during the CS–US interval. In vehicle-injected animals, there was a progressive increase in the percentage of conditioning responses (CRs) and in the slope of fEPSPs through conditioning sessions, an effect that was completely prevented (and lost) in SCH58261 (0.5 mg/kg, i.p.)-injected animals. Moreover, experimentally evoked LTP was impaired in SCH58261- injected mice. In conclusion, the endogenous activation of adenosine A2A receptors plays a pivotal effect on the associative learning process and its relevant hippocampal circuits, including activity-dependent changes at the CA3-CA1 synapse.This study was supported by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Research (BFU2005-01024 and BFU2005-02512), Spanish Junta de Andalucía (BIO-122 and CVI-02487), and the Fundación Conocimiento y Cultura of the Pablo de Olavide University (Seville, Spain).B. Fontinha was in receipt of a studentship from a project grant (POCI/SAU-NEU/56332/2004) supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal), and of an STSM from Cost B30 concerted action of the EU

Effects of Enriched Physical and Social Environments on Motor Performance, Associative Learning, and Hippocampal Neurogenesis in Mice

We have studied the motor abilities and associative learning capabilities of adult mice placed in different enriched environments. Three-month-old animals were maintained for a month alone (AL), alone in a physically enriched environment (PHY), and, finally, in groups in the absence (SO) or presence (SOPHY) of an enriched environment. The animals' capabilities were subsequently checked in the rotarod test, and for classical and instrumental learning. The PHY and SOPHY groups presented better performances in the rotarod test and in the acquisition of the instrumental learning task. In contrast, no significant differences between groups were observed for classical eyeblink conditioning. The four groups presented similar increases in the strength of field EPSPs (fEPSPs) evoked at the hippocampal CA3-CA1 synapse across classical conditioning sessions, with no significant differences between groups. These trained animals were pulse-injected with bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) to determine hippocampal neurogenesis. No significant differences were found in the number of NeuN/BrdU double-labeled neurons. We repeated the same BrdU study in one-month-old mice raised for an additional month in the above-mentioned four different environments. These animals were not submitted to rotarod or conditioned tests. Non-trained PHY and SOPHY groups presented more neurogenesis than the other two groups. Thus, neurogenesis seems to be related to physical enrichment at early ages, but not to learning acquisition in adult mice

Role of Reuniens Nucleus Projections to the Medial Prefrontal Cortex and to the Hippocampal Pyramidal CA1 Area in Associative Learning

We studied the interactions between short- and long-term plastic changes taking place during the acquisition of a classical eyeblink conditioning and following high-frequency stimulation (HFS) of the reuniens nucleus in behaving mice. Synaptic changes in strength were studied at the reuniens-medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the reuniens-CA1 synapses. Input/output curves and a paired-pulse study enabled determining the functional capabilities of the two synapses and the optimal intensities to be applied at the reuniens nucleus during classical eyeblink conditioning and for HFS applied to the reuniens nucleus. Animals were conditioned using a trace paradigm, with a tone as conditioned stimulus (CS) and an electric shock to the trigeminal nerve as unconditioned stimulus (US). A single pulse was presented to the reuniens nucleus to evoke field EPSPs (fEPSPs) in mPFC and CA1 areas during the CS-US interval. No significant changes in synaptic strength were observed at the reuniens-mPFC and reuniens-CA1 synapses during the acquisition of eyelid conditioned responses (CRs). Two successive HFS sessions carried out during the first two conditioning days decreased the percentage of CRs, without evoking any long-term potentiation (LTP) at the recording sites. HFS of the reuniens nucleus also prevented the proper acquisition of an object discrimination task. A subsequent study revealed that HFS of the reuniens nucleus evoked a significant decrease of paired-pulse facilitation. In conclusion, reuniens nucleus projections to prefrontal and hippocampal circuits seem to participate in the acquisition of associative learning through a mechanism that does not required the development of LTP

Búsqueda de kpi de facility management para administrar la infraestructura hospitalaria en colombia

Nowadays, hospital physical asset management is gaining importance due to the size of its buildings, social relevance, operational and maintenance costs. The purpose of this document is to identify the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and categorize them into specific aspects of measurement of infrastructure performance. The lack of an adequate classification of performance indicators prevents the widespread use of performance measures for Facility Management (FM) in the health sector. This article shows a brief review of the state of art of FM KPIs based on a bibliographic search, taking into account international authors and reviewing their approaches and categorizations. The authors of this paper present a summary of the categorization and approach of hospital infrastructure management based on the documents examined, which may offer a more practical use for FM professionals in the healthcare sector. Facility Managers have to tackle too much data, which hinders to carry out a deeper analysis of the key performance indicators in future researches, attempting to generate indicators that match with the organization objectives and that lead to a more intelligent and efficient health infrastructure management.Hoje em dia, a gestão de ativos físicos hospitalários está a ganhar importância devido ao tamanho de seus prédios, sua relevância social, os custos operacionais e de manutenção. O propósito deste documento é identificar os Indicadores Chave de Desempenho (KPIs, em inglês) e categorizá-los em aspectos específicos da medição do desempenho da infra-estrutura. A falta de uma adequada classificação dos indicadores de desempenho impede o uso generalizado de medidas de desempenho para a Gestão de Instalações (FM, em inglês) no sector da saúde. Este artigo apresenta uma breve revisão do estado da arte dos KPI de FM baseados numa procura bibliográfica, tendo em conta aos autores internacionais e revisando seus enfoques e categorizações. Os autores deste trabalho apresentam um resumo da categorização e enfoque da gestão da infra-estrutura hospitalaria a partir dos documentos examinados, o que pode oferecer um uso mais prático para os profissionais da Gestão de Instalações - FM no sector da saúde. Os gestores de instalações têm que abordar bastante dados, o que dificulta uma análise mais profunda dos indicadores chave de rendimento em futuras investigações, tentando gerar indicadores que coincidam com os objetivos da organização e que conduzam a uma gestão da infra-estrutura de saúde mais inteligente e eficiente.En la actualidad, la gestión de activos físicos hospitalarios está adquiriendo importancia debido al tamaño de sus edificaciones, la relevancia social, los costos operativos y de mantenimiento. El propósito de este documento es identificar los Indicadores Clave de Desempeño (KPI por sus siglas en inglés) y clasificarlos en aspectos específicos de medición de desempeño de la infraestructura. La carencia de una clasificación adecuada de los indicadores de desempeño impide el uso general de las medidas de desempeño para el Facility Management (FM por sus siglas en inglés) en el sector de la salud. En este artículo se muestra una breve reseña del estado del arte de los KPIs del FM, basada en una búsqueda bibliográfica teniendo en cuenta autores internacionales y analizando sus enfoques y categorizaciones. Los autores de este trabajo presentan un resumen de la categorización y del enfoque de la gestión de la infraestructura hospitalaria basándose en los documentos examinados, lo que puede ofrecer un uso más práctico para los profesionales del FM en el sector de la salud. Los Facility Managers deben abordar demasiada información lo que dificulta llevar a cabo un análisis más profundo de los indicadores clave de desempeño en investigaciones futuras e intentar generar indicadores que coincidan con los objetivos de la organización y que conduzcan a una gestión de la infraestructura de la salud más inteligente y eficiente

Involvement of cannabinoid CB1 receptor in associative learning and in hippocampal CA3-CA1 synaptic plasticity

We studied, in behaving mice, the contribution of CB1 receptors to the activity-dependent changes induced at the hippocampal CA3-CA1 synapse by associative learning and following experimentally evoked long-term potentiation (LTP). Mice were classically conditioned to evoke eyelid responses with a trace paradigm using a tone as conditioned stimulus (CS) and an electric shock as unconditioned stimulus (US). Field excitatory postsynaptic potentials (fEPSPs) were evoked at the CA3-CA1 synapse during the CS-US interval across training. Conditioning was performed in presence of an agonist (WIN55,212-2) alone or with an antagonist (AM251) of the CB1 receptor, injected either systemically or locally. Conditioned responses (CRs) and fEPSP potentiation were depressed by WIN55,212-2. LTP was evoked by high-frequency stimulation of Schaffer collaterals after systemic or local WIN55,212-2 and AM251 injections. WIN55,212-2 affected the induction phase of LTP, mainly when injected locally. The addition of AM251 canceled out the effects of WIN55,212-2. Similar experiments were carried out in animals lacking the CB1 receptor (CB1 -/- mice) and following silencing of hippocampal CB1 receptors (CB1R-siRNA-injected animals). In this case, CRs (CB1 -/- mice) and LTP (CB1 -/- and CB1R-siRNA-injected mice) reached lower values than their respective controls. Results offer new insights for understanding CB1 receptor contribution to associative learning and to CA3-CA1 synaptic plasticity. © 2011 The Authors.Peer Reviewe

Intervención educativa con una paciente con enfermedad de Alzheimer en fase inicial

La significativa prevalencia y la dependencia que llega a generar la enfermedad de Alzheimer, hacen que un amplio grupo poblacional se vea en la necesidad de cuidar a estos pacientes, teniéndose que adaptar, en las fases iniciales de la enfermedad, a una nueva forma de vida que inevitablemente repercute en el estado físico y psicológico del cuidador. En el siguiente artículo presentamos el caso de una paciente de 74 años de edad diagnosticada de enfermedad de Alzheimer en estadío inicial. En su cuidado intervienen su marido, como cuidador principal, y sus hijos. En una de las visitas domiciliarias que realizamos, detectamos que el cuidador primario presentaba un déficit de conocimientos. Esta situación nos llevó a plantearnos la necesidad de realizar un plan de intervención educativa que incluyera acciones dirigidas, tanto a mejorar la calidad de vida de la paciente, como las capacidades de su cuidador primario. Este plan de intervención, que tiene como modelo de referencia la Teoría de Autocuidado de Dorothea E. Orem, puede ser útil como guía para la valoración y la planificación de actividades de enfermería en situaciones de salud que implican un elevado nivel de dependencia. Abstract: The significant prevalence and the dependency that the Alzheimer disease gets to generate, make that a large quantity of people feel in need of taking care of those patients. This people will have to adapt, on the disease beginning, to a new way of life that will unavoidably affect them in their physical and psychological state. On the following article we introduce the case of a 74 years old patient, who was diagnosed of Alzheimer disease in the initial stage. Her primary care provider is her husband helped by their daughters and sons. In one of our visits to their house, we noticed that the primary care provider didn’t have enough knowledge of this kind of diseases. This situation got us to consider carrying out an educative intervention plan, which aims to increase the life quality of the patient and her primary care provider. This plan is based on the Dorothea E. Orem’s Self-care Theory, so we think it can be useful as a guide to valuate and to plan the nursing care activities in health situations that involve a high level of dependency. Centro de Trabajo: Escuela Universitaria de Enfermería “La Paz” Fecha del Trabajo: 18/05/2005 Palabra Clave: Enfermedad de Alzheimer, plan de cuidados de enfermería, educación para la salud, cuidador primario, dependencia Key Words: Alzheimer disease, nursing care plan, health education, primary care provider, dependenc

Intervención educativa con una paciente con enfermedad de Alzheimer en fase inicial

The significant prevalence and the dependency that the Alzheimer disease gets to generate, make that a large quantity of people feel in need of taking care of those patients. This people will have to adapt, on the disease beginning, to a new way of life that will unavoidably affect them in their physical and psychological state. On the following article we introduce the case of a 74 years old patient, who was diagnosed of Alzheimer disease in the initial stage. Her primary care provider is her husband helped by their daughters and sons. In one of our visits to their house, we noticed that the primary care provider didn’t have enough knowledge of this kind of diseases. This situation got us to consider carrying out an educative intervention plan, which aims to increase the life quality of the patient and her primary care provider. This plan is based on the Dorothea E. Orem’s Self-care Theory, so we think it can be useful as a guide to valuate and to plan the nursing care activities in health situations that involve a high level of dependency.La significativa prevalencia y la dependencia que llega a generar la enfermedad de Alzheimer, hacen que un amplio grupo poblacional se vea en la necesidad de cuidar a estos pacientes, teniéndose que adaptar, en las fases iniciales de la enfermedad, a una nueva forma de vida que inevitablemente repercute en el estado físico y psicológico del cuidador. En el siguiente artículo presentamos el caso de una paciente de 74 años de edad diagnosticada de enfermedad de Alzheimer en estadío inicial. En su cuidado intervienen su marido, como cuidador principal, y sus hijos. En una de las visitas domiciliarias que realizamos, detectamos que el cuidador primario presentaba un déficit de conocimientos. Esta situación nos llevó a plantearnos la necesidad de realizar un plan de intervención educativa que incluyera acciones dirigidas, tanto a mejorar la calidad de vida de la paciente, como las capacidades de su cuidador primario. Este plan de intervención, que tiene como modelo de referencia la Teoría de Autocuidado de Dorothea E. Orem, puede ser útil como guía para la valoración y la planificación de actividades de enfermería en situaciones de salud que implican un elevado nivel de dependencia