Connecting the emotional-cognitive puzzle: The role of tyrosine kinase B (TrkB) receptor isoform imbalance in age-related emotional and cognitive impairments.

Age-related cognitive and affective disorders pose significant public health challenges. Notably, emotional and cognitive symptoms co-occur across multiple age-associated conditions like normal aging, Alzheimer's disease (AD), and mood disorders such as depression and anxiety. While the intricate interplay underlying this relationship remains poorly understood, this article highlights the possibility that an imbalance between full-length (TrkB.

An Ultra-Low Dose of ∆9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Alleviates Alzheimer's Disease-Related Cognitive Impairments and Modulates TrkB Receptor Expression in a 5XFAD Mouse Model.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia, but there is still no available treatment. Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is emerging as a promising therapeutic agent. Using THC in conventional high doses may have deleterious effects.

Anxiolytic and antidepressants' effect of Crataegus pinnatifida (Shan Zha): biochemical mechanisms.

Depression and anxiety disorders are highly prevalent. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the current first-line treatment for depression, but they have pronounced limitations. Traditional Chinese medicine can serve as a safe and effective alternative to conventional drugs, particularly since many herbal remedies have already been approved for human use as food additives, making the transition from bench to bedside more efficient.

Moderation of the transgenerational transference of antenatal stress-induced anxiety.

Maternal stress has debilitating implications for both mother and child, including increased risk for anxiety. The current COVID-19 pandemic escalates these phenomena, thus, urging the need to further explore and validate feasible therapeutic options. Unlike the protracted nature of clinical studies, animal models could offer swift evidence.

Cerebral MAO Activity Is Not Altered by a Novel Herbal Antidepressant Treatment.

Inhibition of monoamine oxidase (MAO)-A/B can ameliorate depressive- and anxiety-related symptoms via increase of monoamine extracellular levels. However, such inhibition can also instigate hypertensive response following exposure to dietary tyramine (i.e.

The associations between executive functions and different aspects of perceived pain, beyond the influence of depression, in rehabilitation setting.

We investigated the relations between several aspects of Perceived Pain (PP) and different measurements of Executive Functions (EFs), above the influence of depression, in the context of medical rehabilitation. Eighty-one neurologically intact patients participated in this study in their sub-acute stage of recovery. Different aspects of EFs were assessed using the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), the Stop-Signal Test (SST) and the Digit Span Backward subtest of the WAIS-III (Span-B).

GABA Receptor Density Is Not Altered by a Novel Herbal Anxiolytic Treatment.

Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent and considered a major public health concern worldwide. Current anxiolytics are of limited efficacy and associated with various side effects. Our novel herbal treatment (NHT), composed of four constituents, was shown to reduce anxiety-like behavior while precluding a common side effect caused by current anxiolytics, i.

The association of total cholesterol with processing speed is moderated by age in mid- to late-age healthy adults.

Objectives: To investigate the nature of the association of normal levels of total cholesterol with cognitive function and the contribution of age to this association.

Methods: A sample of 61 senior executives, who were summoned for an annual medical examination with approximately four measurements of total cholesterol during 4 years, were examined with a computerized cognitive battery assessing mental processing speed as a sensitive measure of cognitive decline. We examined the association of total cholesterol with processing speed and the moderating effect of age on this association.

Escitalopram and NHT normalized stress-induced anhedonia and molecular neuroadaptations in a mouse model of depression.

Anhedonia is defined as a diminished ability to obtain pleasure from otherwise positive stimuli. Anxiety and mood disorders have been previously associated with dysregulation of the reward system, with anhedonia as a core element of major depressive disorder (MDD). The aim of the present study was to investigate whether stress-induced anhedonia could be prevented by treatments with escitalopram or novel herbal treatment (NHT) in an animal model of depression.

Escitalopram or novel herbal treatments differentially alter cytokine and behavioral responses to immune challenge.

Studies suggest that inflammation is involved in the pathophysiology of depression. The present study examined the effects of the commonly used antidepressant escitalopram, in comparison with a novel herbal treatment (NHT) consisted of Crataegus pinnatifida, Triticum aestivum, Lilium brownii and Fructus Ziziphus jujuba, on cytokine and behavioral responses to an immune challenge. Escitalopram augmented lipopolysaccharide-induced tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α peripheral secretion and induced a faster kinetics of interleukin-1β secretion, while marginally reducing sickness behavior.

Higher Fasting Plasma Glucose Levels, within the Normal Range, are Associated with Decreased Processing Speed in High Functioning Young Elderly.

We explored the association of plasma glucose levels within the normal range with processing speed in high functioning young elderly, free of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). A sample of 41 participants (mean age = 64.7, SD = 10; glucose 94.

The forced swim test as a model of depressive-like behavior.

The goal of the present protocol is to describe the forced swim test (FST), which is one of the most commonly used assays for the study of depressive-like behavior in rodents. The FST is based on the assumption that when placing an animal in a container filled with water, it will first make efforts to escape but eventually will exhibit immobility that may be considered to reflect a measure of behavioral despair. This test has been extensively used because it involves the exposure of the animals to stress, which was shown to have a role in the tendency for major depression.

Escitalopram or novel herbal mixture treatments during or following exposure to stress reduce anxiety-like behavior through corticosterone and BDNF modifications.

Anxiety disorders are a major public health concern worldwide. Studies indicate that repeated exposure to adverse experiences early in life can lead to anxiety disorders in adulthood. Current treatments for anxiety disorders are characterized by a low success rate and are associated with a wide variety of side effects.