A remotely-delivered pilot and feasibility program to promote physical and food literacy in adolescents with intellectual disabilities.

Background: Youth with intellectual disabilities experience disparities in physical activity and diet quality. Physical and food literacy are hypothesised to support adoption of healthy lifestyles; however, few such interventions have been developed for this population.

Method: Participants with intellectual disabilities ages 12-16 years were recruited for a 12-week online sports skills and nutrition education intervention.

Evaluating the potential of Special Olympics fitness models as a health intervention for adults with intellectual disabilities.

Background: People with intellectual disabilities (ID) have high prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors; yet, few behavioral health interventions are designed and implemented for people with ID.

Objective: This study examined Special Olympics Inc. (SOI) fitness models as a potential intervention to reduce CVD risk in people with ID.

Importance of genetic background for risk of relapse shown in altered prefrontal cortex gene expression during abstinence following chronic alcohol intoxication.

Alcoholism is a relapsing disorder associated with excessive consumption after periods of abstinence. Neuroadaptations in brain structure, plasticity and gene expression occur with chronic intoxication but are poorly characterized. Here we report identification of pathways altered during abstinence in prefrontal cortex, a brain region associated with cognitive dysfunction and damage in alcoholics.

Elevated testosterone in females reveals a robust sex difference in altered androgen levels during chronic alcohol withdrawal.

The endocrine disruption associated with alcohol (ethanol) abuse in both males and females is widely recognized. Ethanol intoxication and withdrawal in males results in significant reductions in androgen levels. Less is known about female alcoholics, and because the changes in testosterone concentrations remain controversial, we systematically characterized changes in sex steroids after chronic ethanol exposure and withdrawal in both sexes.

Increase in matrix metalloproteinase-9 levels in the rat medial prefrontal cortex after cocaine reinstatement of conditioned place preference.

Recently we have shown that inhibition of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity suppresses the reinstatement of cocaine-primed conditioned place preference (CPP) in rats. Here we explored whether cocaine-primed reinstatement was associated with increased activity of the gelatinases, MMP-2 or MMP-9, in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) or dorsal hippocampus. Male Sprague-Dawley rats underwent training for cocaine-CPP followed by extinction sessions and either saline- or cocaine-priming injections.

Role of matrix metalloproteinases in the acquisition and reconsolidation of cocaine-induced conditioned place preference.

Persistent drug seeking/taking behavior involves the consolidation of memory. With each drug use, the memory may be reactivated and reconsolidated to maintain the original memory. During reactivation, the memory may become labile and susceptible to disruption; thus, molecules involved in plasticity should influence acquisition and/or reconsolidation.

Low level lindane exposure alters extinction of conditioned fear in rats.

Gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane (lindane) is a pesticide with the potential to produce long-term effects on fear or anxiety due to its targeting of the GABA(A) receptor in the brain. Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) is a human condition that has been attributed to repeated chemical exposures, with pesticides heavily implicated in the initiation of MCS. The symptoms in MCS patients are wide ranging but prominent among these in a subset of patients is increased evoked panic responses.