Sex differences in oscillatory signaling dynamics in the prelimbic cortex and nucleus accumbens core during negative affect.

Affective processing is important for guiding behavior and its dysfunction can lead to several psychiatric illnesses, including depression and substance use disorders. Conditioned taste aversion (CTA) is used to study learned shifts in affect, and taste reactivity (TR) can effectively track the hedonic properties of appetitive and aversive tastants before and after CTA. While the infralimbic cortex (IL) and its projections to the nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell play a key role in learned negative affect, this role is unique to males.

Unraveling Sex Differences in Affect Processing: Unique Oscillatory Signaling Dynamics in the Infralimbic Cortex and Nucleus Accumbens Shell.

Background: Negative affect is prevalent in psychiatric diseases such as depression and addiction. Projections from the infralimbic cortex (IL) to the nucleus accumbens shell (NAcSh) are causally linked to learned negative affect as 20 Hz optogenetic stimulation of this circuit reduces conditioned taste aversion (CTA) in male but not female rats. However, the prior study did not provide insight into how innate versus learned negative affect are processed in these areas across sex.

Intrinsic Functional Connectivity between the Anterior Insular and Retrosplenial Cortex as a Moderator and Consequence of Cocaine Self-Administration in Rats.

While functional brain imaging studies in humans suggest that chronic cocaine use alters functional connectivity (FC) within and between key large-scale brain networks, including the default mode network (DMN), the salience network (SN), and the central executive network (CEN), cross-sectional studies in humans are challenging to obtain brain FC prior to cocaine use. Such information is critical to reveal the relationship between individual's brain FC and the subsequent development of cocaine dependence and brain changes during abstinence. Here, we performed a longitudinal study examining functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data in male rats ( = 7), acquired before cocaine self-administration (baseline), on 1 d of abstinence following 10 d of cocaine self-administration, and again after 30 d of experimenter-imposed abstinence.

Distinct mesenchymal cell states mediate prostate cancer progression.

In the complex tumor microenvironment (TME), mesenchymal cells are key players, yet their specific roles in prostate cancer (PCa) progression remain to be fully deciphered. This study employs single-cell RNA sequencing to delineate molecular changes in tumor stroma that influence PCa progression and metastasis. Analyzing mesenchymal cells from four genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs) and correlating these findings with human tumors, we identify eight stromal cell populations with distinct transcriptional identities consistent across both species.

Neuro-Rehabilitation Therapy with T-FLEX Ankle Exoskeleton and Serious Games: A Case Study.

Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) causes permanent disabilities, such as foot drop. This condition affects the gait pattern, increasing the metabolic cost and risk of falling. Robotics with serious games has shown promising results in the gait rehabilitation context.