126 research outputs found
Association between exploratory activity and social individuality in genetically identical mice living in the same enriched environment
Relationship of aerobic fitness and motor skills with memory and attention in preschoolers (Ballabeina): A cross-sectional and longitudinal study
BACKGROUND:
The debate about a possible relationship between aerobic fitness and motor skills with cognitive development in children has recently re-emerged, because of the decrease in children's aerobic fitness and the concomitant pressure of schools to enhance cognitive performance. As the literature in young children is scarce, we examined the cross-sectional and longitudinal relationship of aerobic fitness and motor skills with spatial working memory and attention in preschool children.
METHODS:
Data from 245 ethnically diverse preschool children (mean age: 5.2 (0.6) years, girls: 49.4%) analyzed at baseline and 9 months later. Assessments included aerobic fitness (20 m shuttle run) and motor skills with agility (obstacle course) and dynamic balance (balance beam). Cognitive parameters included spatial working memory (IDS) and attention (KHV-VK). All analyses were adjusted for age, sex, BMI, migration status, parental education, native language and linguistic region. Longitudinal analyses were additionally adjusted for the respective baseline value.
RESULTS:
In the cross-sectional analysis, aerobic fitness was associated with better attention (r=0.16, p=0.03). A shorter time in the agility test was independently associated with a better performance both in working memory (r=-0.17, p=0.01) and in attention (r=-0.20, p=0.01). In the longitudinal analyses, baseline aerobic fitness was independently related to improvements in attention (r=0.16, p=0.03), while baseline dynamic balance was associated with improvements in working memory (r=0.15, p=0.04).
CONCLUSIONS:
In young children, higher baseline aerobic fitness and motor skills were related to a better spatial working memory and/or attention at baseline, and to some extent also to their future improvements over the following 9 months.
TRIAL REGISTRATION:
clinicaltrials.gov NCT0067454
Somatic mosaicism in neuronal precursor cells mediated by L1 retrotransposition
Revealing the mechanisms for neuronal somatic diversification remains a central challenge for understanding individual differences in brain organization and function. Here we show that an engineered human LINE-1 (for long interspersed nuclear element-1; also known as L1) element can retrotranspose in neuronal precursors derived from rat hippocampus neural stem cells. The resulting retrotransposition events can alter the expression of neuronal genes, which, in turn, can influence neuronal cell fate in vitro. We further show that retrotransposition of a human L1 in transgenic mice results in neuronal somatic mosaicism. The molecular mechanism of action is probably mediated through Sox2, because a decrease in Sox2 expression during the early stages of neuronal differentiation is correlated with increases in both L1 transcription and retrotransposition. Our data therefore indicate that neuronal genomes might not be static, but some might be mosaic because of de novo L1 retrotransposition events.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/62714/1/nature03663.pd
Non-nociceptive roles of opioids in the CNS: opioids' effects on neurogenesis, learning, memory and affect.
Mortality due to opioid use has grown to the point where, for the first time in history, opioid-related deaths exceed those caused by car accidents in many states in the United States. Changes in the prescribing of opioids for pain and the illicit use of fentanyl (and derivatives) have contributed to the current epidemic. Less known is the impact of opioids on hippocampal neurogenesis, the functional manipulation of which may improve the deleterious effects of opioid use. We provide new insights into how the dysregulation of neurogenesis by opioids can modify learning and affect, mood and emotions, processes that have been well accepted to motivate addictive behaviours
Prox1 Is Required for Granule Cell Maturation and Intermediate Progenitor Maintenance During Brain Neurogenesis
The transcription factor Prox1 plays a crucial role in intermediate progenitor maintenance and hippocampal neuron differentiation during adult neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus region of the hippocampus
Re-cycling paradigms: cell cycle regulation in adult hippocampal neurogenesis and implications for depression
Since adult neurogenesis became a widely accepted phenomenon, much effort has been put in trying to understand the mechanisms involved in its regulation. In addition, the pathophysiology of several neuropsychiatric disorders, such as depression, has been associated with imbalances in adult hippocampal neurogenesis. These imbalances may ultimately reflect alterations at the cell cycle level, as a common mechanism through which intrinsic and extrinsic stimuli interact with the neurogenic niche properties. Thus, the comprehension of these regulatory mechanisms has become of major importance to disclose novel therapeutic targets. In this review, we first present a comprehensive view on the cell cycle components and mechanisms that were identified in the context of the homeostatic adult hippocampal neurogenic niche. Then, we focus on recent work regarding the cell cycle changes and signaling pathways that are responsible for the neurogenesis imbalances observed in neuropathological conditions, with a particular emphasis on depression
Rejection sensitivity as a vulnerability marker for depressive symptom deterioration in men
publishedVersio
Motivational processes in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease: results from the Motivational Reserve in Alzheimer’s (MoReA) study
Activity-Based Maintenance of Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis: Maintaining a Potential for Lifelong Plasticity
Die COVID-19-Pandemie: Herausforderungen für die Forschung zu Altern und Lebensverlauf in Deutschland. Beilage zum Zukunftsreport Wissenschaft "Forschung für die gewonnenen Jahre"
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