Self-experience of a negative event alters responses to others in similar states through prefrontal cortex CRF mechanisms.

Our own experience of emotional events influences how we approach and react to others' emotions. Here we observe that mice exhibit divergent interindividual responses to others in stress (that is, preference or avoidance) only if they have previously experienced the same aversive event. These responses are estrus dependent in females and dominance dependent in males.

Cortico-cortical transfer of socially derived information gates emotion recognition.

Emotion recognition and the resulting responses are important for survival and social functioning. However, how socially derived information is processed for reliable emotion recognition is incompletely understood. Here, we reveal an evolutionarily conserved long-range inhibitory/excitatory brain network mediating these socio-cognitive processes.

Shank3 deficits in the anteromedial bed nucleus of the stria terminalis trigger an anxiety phenotype in mice.

Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent co-morbidity factor associated with the core domains of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Investigations on potential common neuronal mechanisms that may explain the co-occurrence of ASD and anxiety disorders are still poorly explored. One of the key questions that remained unsolved is the role of Shank3 protein in anxiety behaviours.

Reciprocal cortico-amygdala connections regulate prosocial and selfish choices in mice.

Decisions that favor one's own interest versus the interest of another individual depend on context and the relationships between individuals. The neurobiology underlying selfish choices or choices that benefit others is not understood. We developed a two-choice social decision-making task in which mice can decide whether to share a reward with their conspecifics.

Dysbindin-1A modulation of astrocytic dopamine and basal ganglia dependent behaviors relevant to schizophrenia.

The mechanisms underlying the dichotomic cortical/basal ganglia dopaminergic abnormalities in schizophrenia are unclear. Astrocytes are important non-neuronal modulators of brain circuits, but their role in dopaminergic system remains poorly explored. Microarray analyses, immunohistochemistry, and two-photon laser scanning microscopy revealed that Dys1 hypofunction increases the reactivity of astrocytes, which express only the Dys1A isoform.

Basolateral amygdala activation enhances object recognition memory by inhibiting anterior insular cortex activity.

Noradrenergic activation of the basolateral amygdala (BLA) by emotional arousal enhances different forms of recognition memory via functional interactions with the insular cortex (IC). Human neuroimaging studies have revealed that the anterior IC (aIC), as part of the salience network, is dynamically regulated during arousing situations. Emotional stimulation first rapidly increases aIC activity but suppresses it in a delayed fashion.

Oxytocin Discrepancies in Social Dynamics.

Social group dynamics are highly complex. In this issue of Neuron, Anpilov et al. use a novel wireless optogenetic device to demonstrate that the repeated stimulation of oxytocin neurons modulates pro-social and agonistic behaviors in a time- and context-dependent manner.

Somatostatin interneurons in the prefrontal cortex control affective state discrimination in mice.

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is implicated in processing of the affective state of others through non-verbal communication. This social cognitive function is thought to rely on an intact cortical neuronal excitatory and inhibitory balance. Here combining in vivo electrophysiology with a behavioral task for affective state discrimination in mice, we show a differential activation of medial PFC (mPFC) neurons during social exploration that depends on the affective state of the conspecific.

Oxytocin Signaling in the Central Amygdala Modulates Emotion Discrimination in Mice.

Recognition of other's emotions influences the way social animals interact and adapt to the environment. The neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) has been implicated in different aspects of emotion processing. However, the role of endogenous OXT brain pathways in the social response to different emotional states in conspecifics remains elusive.

The Dopamine D5 Receptor Is Involved in Working Memory.

Pharmacological studies indicate that dopamine D-like receptors (D and D) are critically involved in cognitive function. However, the lack of pharmacological ligands selective for either the D or D receptors has made it difficult to determine the unique contributions of the D-like family members. To circumvent these pharmacological limitations, we used D receptor homozygous (-/-) and heterozygous (+/-) knockout mice, to identify the specific role of this receptor in higher order cognitive functions.

Progression of motor deficits in glioma-bearing mice: impact of CNF1 therapy at symptomatic stages.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most aggressive type of brain tumor. In this context, animal models represent excellent tools for the early detection and longitudinal mapping of neuronal dysfunction, that are critical in the preclinical validation of new therapeutic strategies. In a mouse glioma model, we developed sensitive behavioral readouts that allow early recognizing and following neurological symptoms.

NMR spectroscopy and chemometrics as a tool for anti-TNFα activity screening in crude extracts of grapes and other berries.

The identification of active ingredients in crude plant extracts offers great advantages. In this study, nuclear magnetic resonance and chemometrics were used for the screening of in vitro anti-TNFα activity in different berry types. Solid phase extraction was applied and the resulting water, methanol-water (1:1), and methanol fractions were tested for the activity.

Alterations in grapevine leaf metabolism upon inoculation with Plasmopara viticola in different time-points.

Grapevines are easily infected by plant pathogens. It was found that resistant grapevines induce a wide range of phenolics upon the pathogen-infection. In this study in order to gain insight into these processes in different time-points the metabolic changes during the interaction of two grapevine cultivars, 'Regent' (resistant) and 'Trincadeira' (susceptible), with the downy mildew pathogen (Plasmopara viticola) were investigated.

Transcript and metabolite analysis in Trincadeira cultivar reveals novel information regarding the dynamics of grape ripening.

Background: Grapes (Vitis vinifera L.) are economically the most important fruit crop worldwide. However, the complexity of molecular and biochemical events that lead to the onset of ripening of nonclimacteric fruits is not fully understood which is further complicated in grapes due to seasonal and cultivar specific variation.

Pre-analytical method for NMR-based grape metabolic fingerprinting and chemometrics.

Although metabolomics aims at profiling all the metabolites in organisms, data quality is quite dependent on the pre-analytical methods employed. In order to evaluate current methods, different pre-analytical methods were compared and used for the metabolic profiling of grapevine as a model plant. Five grape cultivars from Portugal in combination with chemometrics were analyzed in this study.

Intralipid prevents and rescues fatal pulmonary arterial hypertension and right ventricular failure in rats.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is characterized by pulmonary vascular remodeling leading to right ventricular (RV) hypertrophy and failure. Intralipid (ILP), a source of parenteral nutrition for patients, contains γ-linolenic acid and soy-derived phytoestrogens that are protective for lungs and heart. We, therefore, investigated the therapeutic potential of ILP in preventing and rescuing monocrotaline-induced PAH and RV dysfunction.

Estrogen rescues preexisting severe pulmonary hypertension in rats.

Rationale: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is characterized by progressive increase in pulmonary artery pressure leading to right ventricular (RV) hypertrophy, RV failure, and death. Current treatments only temporarily reduce severity of the disease, and an ideal therapy is still lacking.

Objectives: Estrogen pretreatment has been shown to attenuate development of PH.

Metabolic characterization of Palatinate German white wines according to sensory attributes, varieties, and vintages using NMR spectroscopy and multivariate data analyses.

(1)H NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy) has been used for metabolomic analysis of 'Riesling' and 'Mueller-Thurgau' white wines from the German Palatinate region. Diverse two-dimensional NMR techniques have been applied for the identification of metabolites, including phenolics. It is shown that sensory analysis correlates with NMR-based metabolic profiles of wine.

Metabolic constituents of grapevine and grape-derived products.

The numerous uses of the grapevine fruit, especially for wine and beverages, have made it one of the most important plants worldwide. The phytochemistry of grapevine is rich in a wide range of compounds. Many of them are renowned for their numerous medicinal uses.

Metabolic response of tomato leaves upon different plant-pathogen interactions.

Introduction: Plants utilise various defence mechanisms against their potential biotic stressing agents such as viroids, viruses, bacteria or fungi and abiotic environmental challenges. Among them metabolic alteration is a common response in both compatible and incompatible plant-pathogen interactions. However, the identification of metabolic changes associated with defence response is not an easy task due to the complexity of the metabolome and the plant response.

NMR metabolic fingerprinting based identification of grapevine metabolites associated with downy mildew resistance.

Grapevine (Vitis vinifera ssp. vinifera L.) and grapes have been extensively studied due to their numerous nutritional benefits and health affecting activities.

Identification of chlorogenic acid as a resistance factor for thrips in chrysanthemum.

Western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) has become a key insect pest of agricultural and horticultural crops worldwide. Little is known about host plant resistance to thrips. In this study, we investigated thrips resistance in chrysanthemum (Dendranthema grandiflora).

Solvent derived artifacts in natural products chemistry.

Solvents play an important and critical role in natural product chemistry. They are mainly used during the extraction and purification of metabolites from a biological matrix. To a lesser extent, solvents are also used as reagents or catalysts to perform chemical reactions.

Quality control of herbal material and phytopharmaceuticals with MS and NMR based metabolic fingerprinting.

Metabolic fingerprinting techniques have received a lot of attention in recent years and the annual amount of publications in this field has increased significantly over the past decade. This increase in publications is due to improvements in the analytical performance, most notably in the field of NMR and MS analysis, and the increased awareness of the different applications of this growing field. Metabolomic fingerprinting or profiling is continuously being applied to new areas of research such as drug discovery from natural resources, quality control of herbal material, and discovering lead compounds.

Pre-analytical method for metabolic profiling of plant cell cultures of Passiflora garckei.

Passiflora garckei cell cultures were used as a model to describe a reproducible sample preparation method. Solid phase extraction (SPE) was employed to isolate the plant metabolites for nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis and to subsequently detect the differences between yeast extract elicited and control cells. Compared with previous results obtained by using a Sephadex LH-20 column, SPE coupled with NMR spectroscopy improves the analysis of aromatic compounds e.