Objective Physiological Measurements but Not Subjective Reports Moderate the Effect of Hunger on Choice Behavior.

Hunger is a powerful driver of human behavior, and is therefore of great interest to the study of psychology, economics, and consumer behavior. Assessing hunger levels in experiments is often biased, when using self-report methods, or complex, when using blood tests. We propose a novel way of objectively measuring subjects' levels of hunger by identifying levels of alpha-amylase (AA) enzyme in their saliva samples.

Perioperative COX-2 and β-Adrenergic Blockade Improves Metastatic Biomarkers in Breast Cancer Patients in a Phase-II Randomized Trial.

Translational studies suggest that excess perioperative release of catecholamines and prostaglandins may facilitate metastasis and reduce disease-free survival. This trial tested the combined perioperative blockade of these pathways in breast cancer patients. In a randomized placebo-controlled biomarker trial, 38 early-stage breast cancer patients received 11 days of perioperative treatment with a β-adrenergic antagonist (propranolol) and a COX-2 inhibitor (etodolac), beginning 5 days before surgery.

Leishmania major infection in a dog with cutaneous manifestations.

Background: Leishmania major is a main cause of cutaneous leishmaniasis in humans in an area that stretches from India through Central Asia, the Middle East, to North and West Africa. In Israel, it is a common infection of humans with rodents as the reservoir hosts and Phlebotomus papatasi as its sand fly vector.

Findings: A 6 months old spayed female mixed breed dog was referred to the Hebrew University Veterinary Teaching Hospital with a large ulcerative dermal lesion on the muzzle, and lesions in the foot pads and left hind leg.

Soluble Syndecan-1 Levels Are Elevated in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Background: Syndecan-1 plays a central role in maintaining normal intestinal barrier function. Shedding of syndecan-1, reflected by soluble syndecan-1 serum concentrations, is highly regulated by inflammation.

Aim: To determine soluble syndecan-1 levels in inflammatory bowel disease patients and its relationship with other inflammatory markers, disease activity, and medical treatment.

Beneficial effect of glatiramer acetate treatment on syndecan-1 expression in dextran sodium sulfate colitis.

Syndecan-1, the most abundant heparan sulfate proteoglycan in the gastrointestinal tract, is reduced in the regenerative epithelium in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This study explored the effects of the immunomodulator glatiramer acetate (GA; Copaxone) treatment on syndecan-1 expression in dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis. Acute and chronic colitis was induced in C57BL/6 mice by 2 and 1.

Vaccination as a novel approach for treating depressive behavior.

Background: Depressive behavior in animals is often associated with reduced levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and impaired neurogenesis in the hippocampus. Recent studies showed that T cells recognizing central nervous system (CNS)-specific antigens can regulate adult hippocampal neurogenesis and expression of BDNF. On the basis of these findings, we hypothesized that controlling CNS specific immune activity by immunization with a myelin-related peptide may have an antidepressant effect.

Dissociation between rewarding and psychomotor effects of opiates: differential roles for glutamate receptors within anterior and posterior portions of the ventral tegmental area.

The rewarding effects of drugs of abuse are thought to be dependent on the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system, which originates in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and projects into the nucleus accumbens (NAC) and other forebrain regions. Heroin, by inhibiting GABAergic interneurons in the VTA, induces local dopaminergic activation and release in the NAC terminals. The role of other basic neurotransmitter systems, such as glutamate in the VTA, in mediating the rewarding effect of addictive drugs, is less established.

Repeated electrical stimulation of reward-related brain regions affects cocaine but not "natural" reinforcement.

Drug addiction is associated with long-lasting neuronal adaptations including alterations in dopamine and glutamate receptors in the brain reward system. Treatment strategies for cocaine addiction and especially the prevention of craving and relapse are limited, and their effectiveness is still questionable. We hypothesized that repeated stimulation of the brain reward system can induce localized neuronal adaptations that may either potentiate or reduce addictive behaviors.

Chronic exposure to Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol downregulates oxytocin and oxytocin-associated neurophysin in specific brain areas.

Cannabinoids are widely abused drugs. Our goal was to identify genes modulated by Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Delta9-THC) treatment. We found that chronic administration of Delta9-THC (1.

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) attenuates cocaine-seeking behavior in the self-administration model in rats.

The aim of this study was to determine the possible involvement of the neurosteroid dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in cocaine-seeking behavior in a self-administration model in rats. DHEA pretreatment (continued thereafter concomitantly with cocaine self-administration) attenuated cocaine-seeking behavior and elevated the levels of dopamine and serotonin in several brain regions relevant to cocaine addiction. Chronic cocaine self-administration induced elevation in brain DHEA, its sulfate ester, DHEAS, and pregnenolone.

Behavioral analysis during the forced swimming test using a joystick device.

The behavioral test described by Porsolt in 1977 for screening potential antidepressant drugs is extensively used both in basic research and in the pharmaceutical industry. The measured behavior is the immobility time during the swimming test (preformed in rodents), which decreases upon acute antidepressant treatment. Several research groups have suggested some modifications on the original Porsolt paradigm and its analysis.