A Study of Consumers\u27 Post Discharge Finances: Struggle, Stasis, or Fresh Start?

The postwar U.S. has experienced an extremely sharp rise in consumer bankruptcies. What happens to these consumers financially after filing for bankruptcy? Do filers catch up with their non-filing peers, stay a constant distance behind or fall further behind over time? This question is investigated empirically using a new set of financial and bankruptcy data obtained from a large national random survey of bankruptcy filers and non-filers. Along some simple financial dimensions, such as car ownership, bankruptcy filers are not disadvantaged compared to non-filers. Along more complex indicators, such as total income and net worth, filers catch up over time but it takes between a dozen and two dozen years. The theoretical justification for allowing consumers to file bankruptcy is to afford debtors a fresh start -in essence, a restoration of financial well-being. Results suggest the U.S. bankruptcy system does not immediately provide consumers with a fresh start; the average filer takes many years to restore their financial well-being

Median-to-ulnar nerve communication in carpal tunnel syndrome: An electrophysiological study

The median-to-ulnar communicating branch (MUC) is an asymptomatic variant of the upper limb innervation that can lead to interpretation errors in routine nerve conduction studies. The diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) or ulnar nerve lesions can be complicated by the presence of MUC. In this study, we describe electrophysiological features of MUC in CTS patients presenting to our clinic. We enrolled MUB cases from consecutive CTS patients referred to our laboratory between the years 2014 and 2019. MUC was present in 53 limbs (36 patients) from the studied population. MUC was bilateral in 53% of patients. MUC type II was the most common subtype (74%), followed by types III and I; more coexisting MUC types were found in the majority of tested limbs. A positive correlation was demonstrated between the severity of CTS and the presence of positive onset, faster CV, or a double component of the compound muscle action potentials. We emphasize the importance of suspecting the presence of MUC in CTS in the presence of a positive onset or a double component in routine motor conduction studies

Synaptic Neurotransmission Depression in Ventral Tegmental Dopamine Neurons and Cannabinoid-Associated Addictive Learning

Drug addiction is an association of compulsive drug use with long-term associative learning/memory. Multiple forms of learning/memory are primarily subserved by activity- or experience-dependent synaptic long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD). Recent studies suggest LTP expression in locally activated glutamate synapses onto dopamine neurons (local Glu-DA synapses) of the midbrain ventral tegmental area (VTA) following a single or chronic exposure to many drugs of abuse, whereas a single exposure to cannabinoid did not significantly affect synaptic plasticity at these synapses. It is unknown whether chronic exposure of cannabis (marijuana or cannabinoids), the most commonly used illicit drug worldwide, induce LTP or LTD at these synapses. More importantly, whether such alterations in VTA synaptic plasticity causatively contribute to drug addictive behavior has not previously been addressed. Here we show in rats that chronic cannabinoid exposure activates VTA cannabinoid CB1 receptors to induce transient neurotransmission depression at VTA local Glu-DA synapses through activation of NMDA receptors and subsequent endocytosis of AMPA receptor GluR2 subunits. A GluR2-derived peptide blocks cannabinoid-induced VTA synaptic depression and conditioned place preference, i.e., learning to associate drug exposure with environmental cues. These data not only provide the first evidence, to our knowledge, that NMDA receptor-dependent synaptic depression at VTA dopamine circuitry requires GluR2 endocytosis, but also suggest an essential contribution of such synaptic depression to cannabinoid-associated addictive learning, in addition to pointing to novel pharmacological strategies for the treatment of cannabis addiction

ACSL6 Is Associated with the Number of Cigarettes Smoked and Its Expression Is Altered by Chronic Nicotine Exposure

Individuals with schizophrenia tend to be heavy smokers and are at high risk for tobacco dependence. However, the nature of the comorbidity is not entirely clear. We previously reported evidence for association of schizophrenia with SNPs and SNP haplotypes in a region of chromosome 5q containing the SPEC2, PDZ-GEF2 and ACSL6 genes. In this current study, analysis of the control subjects of the Molecular Genetics of Schizophrenia (MGS) sample showed similar pattern of association with number of cigarettes smoked per day (numCIG) for the same region. To further test if this locus is associated with tobacco smoking as measured by numCIG and FTND, we conducted replication and meta-analysis in 12 independent samples (n>16,000) for two markers in ACSL6 reported in our previous schizophrenia study. In the meta-analysis of the replication samples, we found that rs667437 and rs477084 were significantly associated with numCIG (p = 0.00038 and 0.00136 respectively) but not with FTND scores. We then used in vitro and in vivo techniques to test if nicotine exposure influences the expression of ACSL6 in brain. Primary cortical culture studies showed that chronic (5-day) exposure to nicotine stimulated ACSL6 mRNA expression. Fourteen days of nicotine administration via osmotic mini pump also increased ACSL6 protein levels in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus of mice. These increases were suppressed by injection of the nicotinic receptor antagonist mecamylamine, suggesting that elevated expression of ACSL6 requires nicotinic receptor activation. These findings suggest that variations in the ACSL6 gene may contribute to the quantity of cigarettes smoked. The independent associations of this locus with schizophrenia and with numCIG in non-schizophrenic subjects suggest that this locus may be a common liability to both conditions

Gene Expression Profile of Neuronal Progenitor Cells Derived from hESCs: Activation of Chromosome 11p15.5 and Comparison to Human Dopaminergic Neurons

BACKGROUND: We initiated differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) into dopamine neurons, obtained a purified population of neuronal precursor cells by cell sorting, and determined patterns of gene transcription. METHODOLOGY: Dopaminergic differentiation of hESCs was initiated by culturing hESCs with a feeder layer of PA6 cells. Differentiating cells were then sorted to obtain a pure population of PSA-NCAM-expressing neuronal precursors, which were then analyzed for gene expression using Massive Parallel Signature Sequencing (MPSS). Individual genes as well as regions of the genome which were activated were determined. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A number of genes known to be involved in the specification of dopaminergic neurons, including MSX1, CDKN1C, Pitx1 and Pitx2, as well as several novel genes not previously associated with dopaminergic differentiation, were expressed. Notably, we found that a specific region of the genome located on chromosome 11p15.5 was highly activated. This region contains several genes which have previously been associated with the function of dopaminergic neurons, including the gene for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), the rate-limiting enzyme in catecholamine biosynthesis, IGF2, and CDKN1C, which cooperates with Nurr1 in directing the differentiation of dopaminergic neurons. Other genes in this region not previously recognized as being involved in the functions of dopaminergic neurons were also activated, including H19, TSSC4, and HBG2. IGF2 and CDKN1C were also found to be highly expressed in mature human TH-positive dopamine neurons isolated from human brain samples by laser capture. CONCLUSIONS: The present data suggest that the H19-IGF2 imprinting region on chromosome 11p15.5 is involved in the process through which undifferentiated cells are specified to become neuronal precursors and/or dopaminergic neurons

Decreased Reward Sensitivity in Rats from the Fischer344 Strain Compared to Wistar Rats Is Paralleled by Differences in Endocannabinoid Signaling

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to examine if differences in the endocannabinoid (ECB) system might be linked to strain specific variations in reward-related behavior in Fischer344 (Fischer) and Wistar rats. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Two rat strains, the Fischer and the Wistar strain, were tested for different aspects of reward sensitivity for a palatable food reward (sweetened condensed milk, SCM) in a limited-access intake test, a progressive ratio (PR) schedule and the pleasure-attenuated startle (PAS) paradigm. Additionally, basic differences in the ECB system and cannabinoid pharmacology were examined in both rat strains. Fischer rats were found to express lower reward sensitivity towards SCM compared to Wistar rats. These differences were observed for consummatory, motivational and hedonic aspects of the palatable food reward. Western blot analysis for the CB1 receptor and the ECB degrading enzyme fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) revealed a lower expression of both proteins in the hippocampus (HPC) of Fischer rats compared to the Wistar strain. Furthermore, increased cannabinoid-stimulated extracellular-regulated kinase (ERK) phosphorylation was detected in Wistar rats compared to the Fischer strain, indicating alterations in ECB signaling. These findings were further supported by the pharmacological results, where Fischer rats were found to be less sensitive towards the effects of the CB1 receptor antagonist/inverse agonist SR141716 and the cannabinoid agonist WIN 55,212-2. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our present findings indicate differences in the expression of the CB1 receptor and FAAH, as well as the activation of ECB signaling pathways between Fischer and Wistar rats. These basic differences in the ECB system might contribute to the pronounced differences observed in reward sensitivity between both rat strains

New technologies for examining neuronal ensembles in drug addiction and fear

Correlational data suggest that learned associations are encoded within neuronal ensembles. However, it has been difficult to prove that neuronal ensembles mediate learned behaviours because traditional pharmacological and lesion methods, and even newer cell type-specific methods, affect both activated and non-activated neurons. Additionally, previous studies on synaptic and molecular alterations induced by learning did not distinguish between behaviourally activated and non-activated neurons. Here, we describe three new approaches—Daun02 inactivation, FACS sorting of activated neurons and c-fos-GFP transgenic rats — that have been used to selectively target and study activated neuronal ensembles in models of conditioned drug effects and relapse. We also describe two new tools — c-fos-tTA mice and inactivation of CREB-overexpressing neurons — that have been used to study the role of neuronal ensembles in conditioned fear

The role of ATP and adenosine in the brain under normoxic and ischemic conditions

By taking advantage of some recently synthesized compounds that are able to block ecto-ATPase activity, we demonstrated that adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in the hippocampus exerts an inhibitory action independent of its degradation to adenosine. In addition, tonic activation of P2 receptors contributes to the normally recorded excitatory neurotransmission. The role of P2 receptors becomes critical during ischemia when extracellular ATP concentrations increase. Under such conditions, P2 antagonism is protective. Although ATP exerts a detrimental role under ischemia, it also exerts a trophic role in terms of cell division and differentiation. We recently reported that ATP is spontaneously released from human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) in culture. Moreover, it decreases hMSC proliferation rate at early stages of culture. Increased hMSC differentiation could account for an ATP-induced decrease in cell proliferation. ATP as a homeostatic regulator might exert a different effect on cell trophism according to the rate of its efflux and receptor expression during the cell life cycle. During ischemia, adenosine formed by intracellular ATP escapes from cells through the equilibrative transporter. The protective role of adenosine A1 receptors during ischemia is well accepted. However, the use of selective A1 agonists is hampered by unwanted peripheral effects, thus attention has been focused on A2A and A3 receptors. The protective effects of A2A antagonists in brain ischemia may be largely due to reduced glutamate outflow from neurones and glial cells. Reduced activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases that are involved in neuronal death through transcriptional mechanisms may also contribute to protection by A2A antagonism. Evidence that A3 receptor antagonism may be protective after ischemia is also reported