Sex-specific changes in voluntary alcohol consumption and nucleus accumbens synaptic plasticity in C57BL/6J mice exposed to neonatal maternal separation.

The long-term influence of early-life stress on brain neurophysiology has been extensively investigated using different animal models. Among these, repeated maternal separation (RMS) in rodents is one of the most commonly adopted. In this study, we elucidated the long-lasting effects of exposure to postnatal RMS in C57BL/6J adult mice on voluntary alcohol consumption and nucleus accumbens (NAc) neurophysiology.

Effects of Chronic Bifidobacteria Administration in Adult Male Rats on Plasma Metabolites: A Preliminary Metabolomic Study.

Probiotics are live microorganisms distributed in the gastrointestinal tract that confer health benefits to the host when administered in adequate amounts. Bifidobacteria have been widely tested as a therapeutic strategy in the prevention and treatment of a broad spectrum of gastrointestinal disorders as well as in the regulation of the "microbiota-gut-brain axis". Metabolomic techniques can provide details in the study of molecular metabolic mechanisms involved in Bifidobacteria function through the analysis of metabolites that positively contribute to human health.

Melatonin: From Neurobiology to Treatment.

Melatonin, the major regulator of the sleep/wake cycle, also plays important physiological and pharmacological roles in the control of neuronal plasticity and neuroprotection. Accordingly, the secretion of this hormone reaches the maximal extent during brain development (childhood-adolescence) while it is greatly reduced during aging, a condition associated to altered sleep pattern and reduced neuronal plasticity. Altogether, these properties of melatonin have allowed us to demonstrate in both experimental models and clinical studies the great chronobiotic efficacy and sleep promoting effects of exogenous melatonin.

Treatment with gut bifidobacteria improves hippocampal plasticity and cognitive behavior in adult healthy rats.

At the present time, gut microbiota inspires great interest in the field of neuroscience as a function of its role in normal physiology and involvement in brain function. This aspect suggests a specific gut-brain pathway, mainly modulated by gut microbiota activity. Among the multiple actions controlled by microbiota at the brain level, neuronal plasticity and cognitive function represent two of the most interesting aspects of this cross-talk communication.

Social enrichment reverses the isolation-induced deficits of neuronal plasticity in the hippocampus of male rats.

Environmental enrichment is known to improve brain plasticity and protect synaptic function from negative insults. In the present study we used the exposure to social enrichment to ameliorate the negative effect observed in post weaning isolated male rats in which neurotrophic factors, neurogenesis, neuronal dendritic trees and spines were altered markedly in the hippocampus. After the 4 weeks of post-weaning social isolation followed by 4 weeks of reunion, different neuronal growth markers as well as neuronal morphology were evaluated using different experimental approaches.