The endocannabinoid system's genetic polymorphisms in sickle cell anemia patients.

Sickle cell anemia (SCA) is a monogenic blood disease with complex and multifactorial pathophysiology. The endocannabinoid system (ECS) could be a candidate for modulating SCA complications, such as priapism, as it has demonstrated an essential role in hematopoiesis, platelet aggregation, and immune responses. We evaluated the association of ECS-related single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) (FAAH rs324420, MAGL rs604300, CNR1 rs7766029, and CNR2 rs35761398) with priapism in a Brazilian SCA cohort.

Cannabidiol effects on fear processing and implications for PTSD: Evidence from rodent and human studies.

Cannabidiol (CBD) modulates aversive memory and its extinction, with potential implications for treating anxiety- and stress-related disorders. Here, we summarize and discuss scientific evidence showing that CBD administered after the acquisition (consolidation) and retrieval (reconsolidation) of fear memory attenuates it persistently in rats and mice. CBD also reduces fear expression and enhances fear extinction.

Dual-step pharmacological intervention for traumatic-like memories: implications from D-cycloserine and cannabidiol or clonidine in male and female rats.

Rationale: Therapeutic approaches to mitigating traumatic memories have often faced resistance. Exploring safe reconsolidation blockers, drugs capable of reducing the emotional valence of the memory upon brief retrieval and reactivation, emerges as a promising pharmacological strategy. Towards this objective, preclinical investigations should focus on aversive memories resulting in maladaptive outcomes and consider sex-related differences to enhance their translatability.

On making (and turning adaptive to) maladaptive aversive memories in laboratory rodents.

Fear conditioning and avoidance tasks usually elicit adaptive aversive memories. Traumatic memories are more intense, generalized, inflexible, and resistant to attenuation via extinction- and reconsolidation-based strategies. Inducing and assessing these dysfunctional, maladaptive features in the laboratory are crucial to interrogating posttraumatic stress disorder's neurobiology and exploring innovative treatments.

Medial prefrontal cortex mechanisms of cannabidiol-induced aversive memory reconsolidation impairments.

Growing evidence indicates that cannabidiol (CBD), a substance present in the Cannabis sativa plant, has potential therapeutic value to regulate abnormal emotional memories associated with post-traumatic stress and drug use disorders. CBD can attenuate their valence after retrieval (i.e.

Interactions of Noradrenergic, Glucocorticoid and Endocannabinoid Systems Intensify and Generalize Fear Memory Traces.

Systemic administration of drugs that activate the noradrenergic or glucocorticoid system potentiates aversive memory consolidation and reconsolidation. The opposite happens with the stimulation of endocannabinoid signaling under certain conditions. An unbalance of these interacting neurotransmitters can lead to the formation and maintenance of traumatic memories, whose strength and specificity attributes are often maladaptive.

Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol alone and combined with cannabidiol mitigate fear memory through reconsolidation disruption.

Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) are the major constituents of the Cannabis sativa plant, which is frequently consumed by subjects exposed to life-threatening situations to relief their symptomatology. It is still unknown, however, whether THC could also affect the maintenance of an aversive memory formed at that time when taken separately and/or in conjunction with CBD. The present study sought to investigate this matter at a preclinical level.

PTSD-like memory generated through enhanced noradrenergic activity is mitigated by a dual step pharmacological intervention targeting its reconsolidation.

Background: Traumatic memories have been resilient to therapeutic approaches targeting their permanent attenuation. One of the potentially promising pharmacological strategies under investigation is the search for safe reconsolidation blockers. However, preclinical studies focusing on this matter have scarcely addressed abnormal aversive memories and related outcomes.

Activity in prelimbic cortex subserves fear memory reconsolidation over time.

The prelimbic cortex has been implicated in the consolidation of previously learned fear. Herein, we report that temporarily inactivating this medial prefrontal cortex subregion with the GABAA agonist muscimol (4.0 nmol in 0.

Enhanced noradrenergic activity potentiates fear memory consolidation and reconsolidation by differentially recruiting α1- and β-adrenergic receptors.

Consolidation and reconsolidation are phases of memory stabilization that diverge slightly. Noradrenaline is known to influence both processes, but the relative contribution of α1- and β-adrenoceptors is unclear. The present study sought to investigate this matter by comparing their recruitment to consolidate and/or reconsolidate a contextual fear memory trace under enhanced noradrenergic activity induced by yohimbine.

On disruption of fear memory by reconsolidation blockade: evidence from cannabidiol treatment.

The search for reconsolidation blockers may uncover clinically relevant drugs for disrupting memories of significant stressful life experiences, such as those underlying the posttraumatic stress disorder. Considering the safety of systemically administered cannabidiol (CBD), the major non-psychotomimetic component of Cannabis sativa, to animals and humans, the present study sought to investigate whether and how this phytocannabinoid (3-30 mg/kg intraperitoneally; i.p.

Preclinical evaluation of Trichilia catigua extracts on the central nervous system of mice.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Trichilia catigua preparations have been popularly used in Brazil as a tonic for the treatment of fatigue, stress, impotence, and deficiency of memory. The aim of the present study was to investigate the possible antidepressant, anxiolytic, motor and cognitive effects of the crude extract (CE) or ethyl-acetate fraction (EAF) of Trichilia catigua. Analyses of the total phenolics and total tannins content, as well as the in vitro antioxidant activity of CE and EAF were also performed.

Vitamin E improves learning performance and changes the expression of nitric oxide-producing neurons in the brains of diabetic rats.

We investigated the effects of chronic administration of vitamin E on nitric oxide (NO)-producing neurons in the brains of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats using nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-diaphorase (NADPH-d) histochemistry. We further evaluated the effects of diabetes and vitamin E treatment on experimental anxiety and memory processes using the elevated plus maze (EPM) Trial 1/2 protocol. Wistar rats were divided into four groups: normoglycemics (N), normoglycemics treated with vitamin E (NVE), diabetics (D), and diabetics treated with vitamin E (DVE).