Examining the Role of Oxytocinergic Signaling and Neuroinflammatory Markers in the Therapeutic Effects of MDMA in a Rat Model for PTSD.

MDMA-assisted psychotherapy has shown potential as an effective treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Preclinical studies involving rodents have demonstrated that MDMA can facilitate the extinction of fear memories. It has been noted that MDMA impacts oxytocin neurons and pro-inflammatory cytokines.

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.

Imbalance in Sirt1 Alternative Splicing in Response to Chronic Stress during the Adolescence Period in Female Mice.

Stressful unpredictable life events have been implicated in numerous diseases. It is now becoming clear that some life periods are more vulnerable than others. As adolescence is a sensitive period in brain development, the long-term effects of stress during this period could be significant.

Impact of interpregnancy interval on long-term childhood neoplasm of the offspring.

Background: The possible impact of interpregnancy interval (IPI) on perinatal outcomes has long been studied, however, a definition of the optimal interval is still not clear. Both short and long IPIs have been associated with obstetrical syndromes and short and long-term complications. In this study, we sought to explore the impact of IPI on the hazard for neoplasm of the offspring, thus contribute to the present literature in determining the preferred birth spacing.

Behavioral Characterizing of CD24 Knockout Mouse-Cognitive and Emotional Alternations.

CD24 is a small, glycophosphatidylinositol-anchored cell surface protein, mostly investigated with respect to cancer, inflammation, and autoimmune diseases. CD24 knockdown or inhibition has been used to test various biochemical mechanisms and neurological conditions; however, the association between CD24 and behavioral phenotypes has not yet been examined. This study aims to characterize cognitive and emotional functions of CD24 knockout mice (CD24) compared with CD24 wild-type mice at three time-points: adolescence, young adulthood, and adulthood.

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.

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.

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.

Reversal of age-related cognitive impairments in mice by an extremely low dose of tetrahydrocannabinol.

This study was designed to test our hypothesis that an ultra-low dose of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) reverses age-dependent cognitive impairments in old mice and to examine the possible biological mechanisms that underlie this behavioral effect. Old female mice aged 24 months that had been injected once with 0.002 mg/kg THC (3-4 orders of magnitudes lower than doses that induce the conventional cannabinoid effects in mice) performed significantly better than vehicle-treated old mice and performed similarly to naive young mice aged 2 months, in 6 different behavioral assays that measured various aspects of memory and learning.