Adicción a los opiáceros : mecanismos neurobiológicos implicados en la recaída

RESUMEN El objetivo general de la presente Tesis Doctoral fue el de estudiar los mecanismos neurobiológicos subyacentes al fenómeno de recaída, analizando qué neurotransmisores y qué sistemas de neurotransmisión pueden estar involucrados en esta conducta. Mediante el condicionamiento de preferencia de lugar desarrollamos un modelo de recaída utilizando como sujetos ratones macho de la cepa OF1. Nuestra hipótesis fue que la administración de morfina inducirá una preferencia por el lugar donde es administrada, efecto que se prolongará por algún tiempo e irá extinguiéndose espontáneamente. Después del período de extinción, dosis bajas de morfina o de psicoestimulantes y diferentes protocolos de estímulos estresantes, produjeron un restablecimiento del condicionamiento, haciendo que los animales mostrasen otra vez preferencia por el lugar asociado con la administración inicial de la droga, sugiriéndose que esta reinstauración o recaída podría ser similar a la que es observada en humanos. Los resultados confirmaron que la reinstauración de la preferencia de lugar puede ser útil como un modelo para estudiar los mecanismos neurobiológicos subyacentes al fenómeno de recaída a la drogadicción. Una vez definido adecuadamente este modelo, estudiamos el papel que juegan diferentes neurotransmisores en el fenómeno de la recaída. El presente trabajo demostró que el condicionamiento de preferencia de lugar inducido por morfina es muy persistente al paso del tiempo y, una vez extinguido, puede ser reinstaurado por la administración no contingente de diferentes dosis priming de morfina, cocaína y anfetamina. Los resultados también nos sugieren el papel fundamental del sistema glutamatérgico en la reinstauración producida por la re-exposición a la morfina. Asimismo hemos observado la reinstauración (recaída) del condicionamiento previamente extinguido tras la exposición de los animales a un estrés físico o emocional. Este trabajo contribuye al conocimiento de las bases neurobiológicas implicadas en la adicción, especialmente en las conductas de búsqueda y deseo por la droga (craving), que constituyen los elementos básicos en el fenómeno de recaída. Además, los resultados obtenidos también nos ayudan a comprender en que medida los factores estresantes físicos y emocionales contribuyen en el fenómeno de la recaída, y las posibles estrategias preventivas y terapéuticas que se deberían considerar en el abordaje de este fenómeno. __________________________________________________________________________________________________The general aim of the present Doctoral Thesis was to study the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the relapse phenomenon, analysing which neurotransmitters and which neurotransmission systems could be involved in this behaviour. Using the place preference conditioning paradigm we developed a model of relapse using OF1 male mice as subjects. Our hypothesis was that the administration of morphine would induce a preference by the place in which was administered, effects that will prolonged by some time and will spontaneously be extinguished. After an extinction period, low doses of morphine or psychostimulants and different stressful procedures, will produce the reinstatement of conditioning, making that animals show again preference by the initially drug paired compartment, suggesting that this reinstatement or relapse maybe similar to that observed in humans. The results confirmed that reinstatement of place preference could be useful as a model to study the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the relapse to drug addiction phenomenon. Once well defined this model, we study the role of different neurotransmitters in relapse phenomenon. The present work demonstrates that the morphine induced conditioning place preference is very persistent over time and, once is extinguished, it could be reinstated by the non-contingent administration of different priming doses of morphine, cocaine and amphetamine. The results also suggests the fundamental role of glutamatergic system in the reinstatement produced by the re-exposition to morphine. we also have observed the reinstatement (relapse) of the previously extinguished morphine-induced place preference after the exposure to a physical or emotional stressor. This work contributes to the knowledge of the neurobiological basis involved in addiction, specially in the drug seeking and craving, which are basic elements in the relapse phenomenon. This results also help us to understanding in which way the emotional and physical stressors contributes to relapse, and the possible preventive and therapeutically strategies which should be considered in the treatment of this phenomenon

Hábitos de consumo de drogas y percepción sobre los efectos en salud y rendimiento académico en estudiantes de Psicología en la Universidad de Huelva

El objetivo del trabajo es describir las prevalencias y las relaciones entre las diferentes drogas en estudiantes universitarios. Además conocer la percepción que tienen los estudiantes sobre los efectos de las drogas en el rendimiento académico y en la salud. La muestra está compuesta por 153 estudiantes de psicología de la Universidad de Huelva. Los datos de consumo y percepción se recogen mediante un cuestionario, anónimo y voluntario. Nuestros resultados ponen de manifi esto que las sustancias más consumidas y de inicio más temprano son el alcohol, el tabaco y el cannabis, por tanto, se confi rman las tendencias encontradas en jóvenes. Del mismo modo, se confi rma el patrón de policonsumo en un 60,78% de la muestra. El consumo de tabaco se inicia antes que el del alcohol o cannabis, y cuanto antes se inicia en el consumo de tabaco, antes también se inicia en el consumo de otras sustancias. Según sean las sustancias combinadas, se hallan diferencias en la edad de inicio del alcohol y en la cantidad de cigarrillos de tabaco. Se comienza a consumir alcohol antes si los que beben también fuman. Los que fuman más cigarros son los que combinan el tabaco con alguna otra droga ilegal distinta al cannabis. Con respecto a la percepción sobre el efecto del consumo de drogas, aquellos que consumen alcohol, tabaco y cannabis, consideran que las drogas afectan menos al rendimiento académico que los no consumidores o consumidores de drogas legales.The aim of this study is to describe the prevalence and relationships between different drugs among college students, as well as getting to know the perception of students about the effects of drugs on academic performance and health. The sample consists of 153 psychology students from the University of Huelva. The consumption and perception data are collected by an anonymous and voluntary questionnaire. Our results show that the most widely-consumed substances with earliest onset are alcohol, tobacco and cannabis, thus confi rming the trends found in young people. Similarly, polyconsumption is confi rmed with a percentage of 60.78% of the sample. Tobacco consumption starts earlier than alcohol or cannabis, and the sooner people start to consume tobacco, the sooner the consumption of other substances starts. Depending on the substances combined, there are differences in the age of onset of alcohol and the quantity of tobacco cigarettes. Thus, if those who drink also smoke, the age of onset of alcohol use is earlier. Those who smoke most cigarettes are the ones who combine tobacco with any illegal drug other than cannabis. With regard to perception of the effect of drug use, students who use alcohol, cannabis and tobacco consider that drugs affect academic performance less than non-users or consumers of legal drugs

Influence of a cognitive behavioural training program on health: a study among primary teachers

Este estudio longitudinal se llevó a cabo para evaluar la eficacia de un programa de entrenamiento cognitivo-conductual que se diseñó para modificar los procesos cognitivos y emocionales relacionados con el estrés laboral en una muestra de profesores. El grupo de entrenamiento constaba de 21 profesores, y el grupo no entrenado estaba compuesto por 16 profesores. El programa de entrenamiento se dividió en cuatro sesiones presenciales y el intervalo entre el tiempo 1 y tiempo 2 fue de 4 meses. El programa de entrenamiento redujo significativamente los niveles de problemas psicosomáticos en el grupo de entrenamiento del tiempo 1 al tiempo 2, y aumentó significativamente los niveles de cortisol del tiempo 1 al tiempo 2

Effects of an incremental maximal endurance exercise stress-induced cortisol on cognitive performance

Objectives: It can be hypothesized that cognitive performance decreases after fatigue protocol when it coincides with the maximum peak of cortisol. The first aim of this study was to elucidate the effects of a single bout of high intensity exercise on behavioural (i.e., attention and memory) and physiological (i.e., salivary cortisol) responses. The second objective was to evaluate the effect of the performance of the cognitive tasks on cortisol levels. Methods: Thirty-four physically active men (at least 5 days/week of physical activity practice) 38.11 (1.57) years old completed a maximal incremental protocol on a treadmill by running until they reached a state of stress. Salivary cortisol and cognitive functions were evaluated in counterbalanced order prior and following exercise-induced stress. Results: Results showed lower cortisol levels before exercise and higher cortisol values before the cognitive task. Indeed, exercise-induced stress had only a detrimental effect on attention without any impact on declarative memory and finding improvements on working memory performance. Conclusion: The effects of stress on cognitive performance depending on the main brain areas responsible of cognitive functions (i.e., prefrontal cortex and hippocampus) and time elapsed between the cessation of exercise and the evaluation of these

ATLANTIC EPIPHYTES: a data set of vascular and non-vascular epiphyte plants and lichens from the Atlantic Forest

Epiphytes are hyper-diverse and one of the frequently undervalued life forms in plant surveys and biodiversity inventories. Epiphytes of the Atlantic Forest, one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world, have high endemism and radiated recently in the Pliocene. We aimed to (1) compile an extensive Atlantic Forest data set on vascular, non-vascular plants (including hemiepiphytes), and lichen epiphyte species occurrence and abundance; (2) describe the epiphyte distribution in the Atlantic Forest, in order to indicate future sampling efforts. Our work presents the first epiphyte data set with information on abundance and occurrence of epiphyte phorophyte species. All data compiled here come from three main sources provided by the authors: published sources (comprising peer-reviewed articles, books, and theses), unpublished data, and herbarium data. We compiled a data set composed of 2,095 species, from 89,270 holo/hemiepiphyte records, in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, recorded from 1824 to early 2018. Most of the records were from qualitative data (occurrence only, 88%), well distributed throughout the Atlantic Forest. For quantitative records, the most common sampling method was individual trees (71%), followed by plot sampling (19%), and transect sampling (10%). Angiosperms (81%) were the most frequently registered group, and Bromeliaceae and Orchidaceae were the families with the greatest number of records (27,272 and 21,945, respectively). Ferns and Lycophytes presented fewer records than Angiosperms, and Polypodiaceae were the most recorded family, and more concentrated in the Southern and Southeastern regions. Data on non-vascular plants and lichens were scarce, with a few disjunct records concentrated in the Northeastern region of the Atlantic Forest. For all non-vascular plant records, Lejeuneaceae, a family of liverworts, was the most recorded family. We hope that our effort to organize scattered epiphyte data help advance the knowledge of epiphyte ecology, as well as our understanding of macroecological and biogeographical patterns in the Atlantic Forest. No copyright restrictions are associated with the data set. Please cite this Ecology Data Paper if the data are used in publication and teaching events. © 2019 The Authors. Ecology © 2019 The Ecological Society of Americ

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. METHODS The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model-a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates-with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality-which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2-100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1-290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1-211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4-48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3-37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7-9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. INTERPRETATION Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. FUNDING Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Avaliação da intensidade de um teste de força específico em Judô segundo resposta hormonal

The physical exercise is one stressor agent responsible by endocrine system response. Quantify this response allow us to measure the type of exercise about intensity and volume. The aim this study was to identify the response of testosterone (T) and cortisol (C) on the application of a specific test for Judo. A sample of 9 male judokas, 24.1 ± 3.1 years of age, 180 ± 8.4 cm in height and 73.3 ± 8.3 Kg in weight participated in this study. Biochemical analyses in saliva were performed to measure the concentrations of t and c in four times, S1 (rest 24 hours before the test); S2 before the test, S3 after test and S4 (24 hours after the test). Significant increases were produced in S1 and S2 to S3. In relation to the concentration of t, there were significant increases in the following moments of evaluation: S1T-S3T (p=0.002); S2T-S3T (p=0.001) and a significant decrease in S3T-S4T (p=0.004). The level of concentration of cortisol presents an increase at the same moments S1C-S3C (p=0.015); S2C-S3C (p=0.046) and a decrease in S3C-S4C (p=0.005). In conclusion, the developed test stimulates a great hormonal response to t and c levels. The test can be characterized as a short and intense activity that might be used as a tool to measure the state of force resistant specifically in Judo athletes.O exercício físico é um agente de stress responsável pela resposta do sistema endócrino. Quantificar essa resposta, permite avaliar as características do exercício relativamente à sua intensidade e volume. O objetivo principal deste estudo foi identificar a intensidade e o período de recuperação em 24 horas, após a realização de um teste específico de Judo através da resposta hormonal da testosterona (T) e do cortisol (C). A amostra foi constituída por 9 judocas masculinos com uma idade de 24.1 ± 3.1, 180 ±8.4 cmde altura e 73.3 ± 8.3 kg de peso. Para analisar a resposta de T e C, foram definidos 4 momentos de recolha de saliva S1 (repouso 24 horas antes do teste); S2 (antes do teste); S3 (depois do teste) e S4 (24 horas depois do teste). Verificaram-se variações significativas durante todo o estudo. Existiu um aumento significativo na concentração de T entre S1T-S3T (p=0.002); S2T-S3T (p=0.001) e uma diminuição significativa em S3T-S4T (p=0.004). Relativamente ao C, verificou-se um aumento significativo S1C-S3C (p=0.015); S2C-S3C (p=0.046) e uma diminuição significativa em S3C-S4C (p=0.005). Pode-se concluir que este teste específico de Judo estimula uma grande resposta hormonal a nível de T e C. Podemos concluir que se trata um teste com uma intensidade elevada e de curta duração, com características semelhantes a um combate de judo. Pode-se considerar uma ferramenta muito útil na avaliação da força específica de judo.

The Mediator Role of Feelings of Guilt in the Process of Burnout and Psychosomatic Disorders: A Cross-Cultural Study

Burnout was recently declared by WHO as an "occupational phenomenon" in the International Classification of Diseases 11th revision (ICD-11), recognizing burnout as a serious health issue. Earlier studies have shown that feelings of guilt appear to be involved in the burnout process. However, the exact nature of the relationships among burnout, guilt and psychosomatic disorders remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediator role of feelings of guilt in the relationship between burnout and psychosomatic disorders, and perform a cross-cultural validation of the multi-dimensional model by Gil-Monte in two samples of teachers (Portuguese vs. Spanish). The study sample was composed of 1,266 teachers, 1,062 from Spain, and 204 from Portugal. Burnout was measured by the Spanish Burnout Inventory. Hypotheses were tested together in a path model. The results obtained provide empirical evidence for the mediator role of guilt in the relationship between the Burnout syndrome and psychosomatic disorders in the sample of teachers from Spain and Portugal, and they contribute to the empirical validation of the model by Gil-Monte. The results indicate that guilt should be incorporated as a symptom of burnout in order to identify individuals affected by burnout and profiles or types of burnout to differentiate it from other pathologies like depression

A power measurement system under non-sinusoidal loads

3 p. : il.The paper gives an account on a new power measuring system, based on digital sampling, which was developed by the National Institute of Metrology (INMETRO) of Brazil. The goal of the project was to achieve the highest possible accuracy at the presence of considerable harmonic distortions, to guarantee full traceability to national standards and to minimize the costs of obtaining a high quality reference system. The system facilitates the calibration of commercialized electronic wattmeters, watt-hour meters, as well as the analysis of non-linear loads, resulting harmonic distortions in power systems

Efecto de un Ejercicio de Fuerza de alta intensidad sobre el Rendimiento cognitivo

OBJETIVO. El objetivo principal de este estudio fue dilucidar los efectos de un ejercicio de fuerza de alta intensidad hasta el fallo en las respuestas conductuales y fisiológicas. El segundo objetivo fue evaluar el efecto del desempeño de las tareas cognitivas sobre los niveles de cortisol. MÉTODOSː Catorce sujetos activos completaron un ejercicio de estrés físico compuesto de 6 series de sentadillas hasta el fallo. El cortisol salival y las funciones cognitivas se evaluaron de forma contrabalanceada antes y después del ejercicio. RESULTADOS: Se mostraron niveles de cortisol más bajos antes del ejercicio y más altos antes de la tarea cognitiva (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONES: El estrés inducido por el ejercicio tuvo un efecto perjudicial en la atención. Además, los efectos del estrés en el rendimiento cognitivo parecen depender del tiempo transcurrido entre el cese del ejercicio y la evaluación de estos, pero no del tipo de ejercicio de alta intensidad realizad