Variation in an upstream repetitive region at the locus, which encodes the serotonin transporter, is associated with anxiety-related behaviour in a few primate species, including humans and rhesus macaques, and has been suggested to be related to ecological adaptability among macaques. In this study, we investigate evolution of polymorphisms associated with anxiety-related behaviour in common marmosets (). Assaying variation in the repeat region across 14 species in eight genera of callitrichid primates (marmosets and tamarins), we find large interspecific variation in the number of repeats present (24-43).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExcipients are added to biopharmaceutical formulations to enhance protein stability and enable the development of robust formulations with acceptable physicochemical properties, but the mechanism by which they confer stability is not fully understood. Here, we aimed to elucidate the mechanism through direct experimental evidence of the binding affinity of an excipient to a monoclonal antibody (mAb), using saturation transfer difference (STD) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic method. We ranked a series of excipients with respect to their dissociation constant (K) and nonspecific binding constants (N).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe spontaneous object recognition (SOR) task is a versatile and widely used memory test that was only recently established in nonhuman primates (marmosets). Here, we extended these initial findings by assessing the performance of adult capuchin monkeys on the SOR task and three potentially intervening task parameters-object familiarization phase, retention delay and sex. In Experiment 1, after an initial 10-min familiarization period with two identical objects and a pre-established retention delay (0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMikrochim Acta
July 2022
The synthesis and characterization of a novel titania/silica hybrid xerogel subsequently modified with 4-methylpyridine (4-Pic), named TiSi4PicCl is reported. The physicochemical, structural and thermal properties of TiSi4PicCl were characterized using several techniques. Anchoring cobalt(II) phthalocyanine (CoTsPc) in TiSi4PicCl showed greater electroanalytical sensitivity over other sensors built with these materials.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA stressful experience can enhance information storage and impair memory retrieval in the rodent novel object recognition (NOR) task. However, recent conflicting results underscore the need for further investigation. Nonhuman primates may provide a unique, underexplored and more translational means to investigate stress-mediated changes in memory.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRev Assoc Med Bras (1992)
January 2022
Objective: The objective of this study was to measure the intra- and inter-rater reliability of the quantitative sensory testing for measuring the thermal pain threshold on myofascial trigger points in the upper trapezius muscle of individuals with chronic neck pain.
Methods: Thirty female participants were included, aged between 18 and 45 years and with bilateral myofascial trigger points, active and centrally located in the upper trapezius muscle. Two measurements with quantitative sensory testing were performed by each examiner at an interval of 1 week between them.
The spontaneous object recognition (SOR) task is one of the most widely used behavioral protocols to assess visual memory in animals. However, only recently was it shown that nonhuman primates also perform well on this task. Here we further characterized this new monkey recognition memory test by assessing the performance of adult marmosets after an acute systemic administration of two putative amnesic agents: the competitive muscarinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist scopolamine (SCP; 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Müller-Lyer Illusion (MLI) has been suggested as a potential marker for the perceptual impairments observed in schizophrenia patients. Along with some positive symptoms, these deficits are not easily modeled in rodent experiments, and novel animal models are warranted. Previously, MK-801 was shown to reduce susceptibility to MLI in monkeys, raising the prospects of an effective perception-based model.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOpalescence of biopharmaceutical solutions can indicate suboptimal colloidal stability and is therefore a generally undesirable attribute that requires investigation and potentially remediation. While there are numerous instrumentation options available for measuring opalescence, cross-instrument comparisons and detailed knowledge of analytical biases have been limited. Here, we highlight key findings from a multi-instrument investigation where differences in reported opalescence values are explained with particular emphasis on how the optical configuration and detector properties of each instrument affect the response of the sample and the primary formazin standards required for instrument calibration.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNovel environments induce a conflicting emotional approach-withdrawal state that triggers stress-related reactions. Social support through the presence of a highly familiar conspecific buffers the individual against such challenges. Although aversive events seem to be predominantly processed by the right hemisphere, this is still under debate and little is known about functional cerebral asymmetries in nonhuman primates during novelty stress, isolation and social buffering.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSphingolipids and enzymes of the sphingolipid rheostat determine synaptic appearance and signaling in the brain, but sphingolipid contribution to normal behavioral plasticity is little understood. Here we asked how the sphingolipid rheostat contributes to learning and memory of various dimensions. We investigated the role of these lipids in the mechanisms of two different types of memory, such as appetitively and aversively motivated memory, which are considered to be mediated by different neural mechanisms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Ceramides are lipid molecules determining cell integrity and intercellular signaling, and thus, involved in the pathogenesis of several psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. However, little is known about the role of particular enzymes of the ceramide metabolism in the mechanisms of normal behavioral plasticity. Here, we studied the contribution of neutral ceramidase (NC), one of the main enzymes mediating ceramide degradation, in the mechanisms of learning and memory in rats and non-human primates.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInnate immunity is associated with Alzheimer's disease, but the influence of immune activation on the production of amyloid-β is unknown. Here we identify interferon-induced transmembrane protein 3 (IFITM3) as a γ-secretase modulatory protein, and establish a mechanism by which inflammation affects the generation of amyloid-β. Inflammatory cytokines induce the expression of IFITM3 in neurons and astrocytes, which binds to γ-secretase and upregulates its activity, thereby increasing the production of amyloid-β.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEcology
November 2020
Mammalian carnivores are considered a key group in maintaining ecological health and can indicate potential ecological integrity in landscapes where they occur. Carnivores also hold high conservation value and their habitat requirements can guide management and conservation plans. The order Carnivora has 84 species from 8 families in the Neotropical region: Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Otariidae; Phocidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTemporal information about food availability can be easily entrained, as in the case of fixed feeding routines of captive animals. A sudden unintentional or deliberate delay (e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCocaine addiction is a severe psychiatric condition for which currently no effective pharmacotherapy is available. Brain mechanisms for the establishment of addiction-related behaviors are still not fully understood, and specific biomarkers for cocaine use are not available. Sphingolipids are major membrane lipids, which shape neuronal membrane composition and dynamics in the brain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEcology
November 2020
Biological invasion is one of the main threats to native biodiversity. For a species to become invasive, it must be voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into a nonnative habitat. Mammals were among first taxa to be introduced worldwide for game, meat, and labor, yet the number of species introduced in the Neotropics remains unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurr Top Behav Neurosci
November 2020
Whilst acetylcholine has long been linked to memory, there have been significant questions about its specific role. In particular, the effects of cholinergic manipulations in primates and rodents has often been at odds. Here, we review the work in primates and rodents on the specific function of acetylcholine in memory, and episodic memory in particular.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFγ-Secretase is a multisubunit complex that catalyzes intramembranous cleavage of transmembrane proteins. The lipid environment forms membrane microdomains that serve as spatio-temporal platforms for proteins to function properly. Despite substantial advances in the regulation of γ-secretase, the effect of the local membrane lipid microenvironment on the regulation of γ-secretase is poorly understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChem Commun (Camb)
February 2020
Combining NMR, mass spectrometry, AlphaLISA and cell assays, we discovered a compound C1 that binds C-terminal juxtamembrane lysines at the transmembrane domain of the amyloid precursor protein (APPTM) and inhibits γ-secretase production of amyloid-β with μM IC50. Our work suggests that targeting APPTM is a novel and viable strategy in AD drug discovery.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the spontaneous object-location (SOL) task, the ability to recognize where stimuli were located in a past encounter is assessed. Even if widely used in rodents, several aspects can affect task performance. It is thus important to assess potentially intervening variables in the new monkey SOL task.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRestraint is widely used to experimentally assess stress-induced effects. Surprisingly, little is known on how marmosets - an increasingly used small primate - process and respond to restraint stress. Here, we assessed blood cortisol concentration and tympanic membrane temperatures (TMT) in adult marmoset monkeys () during 0, 15, or 30 min of restraint and social isolation in a small cage.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRationale: The endocannabinoid system (eCS) is an important modulator of social anxiety and social reward, as well as memory functions.
Objectives: The present study evaluated the role of eCS in social interactions and aversive memory extinction in capuchin monkeys (Sapajus spp.) by blocking the cannabinoid type 1 receptor (CB).
Xenarthrans-anteaters, sloths, and armadillos-have essential functions for ecosystem maintenance, such as insect control and nutrient cycling, playing key roles as ecosystem engineers. Because of habitat loss and fragmentation, hunting pressure, and conflicts with domestic dogs, these species have been threatened locally, regionally, or even across their full distribution ranges. The Neotropics harbor 21 species of armadillos, 10 anteaters, and 6 sloths.
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