Oxytocin in Brain Health and Disease: How can it exert such pleiotropic neuromodulatory effects?

Oxytocin in Brain Health and Disease: How can it exert such pleiotropic neuromodulatory effects? PDF

Author: Francesca Talpo

Publisher: Frontiers Media SA

Published: 2023-06-08

Total Pages: 145

ISBN-13: 2832525997

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Oxytocin is a pituitary hormone able to produce a multitude of heterogeneous central and peripheral responses. Within the central nervous system, oxytocin is synthesized by the hypothalamic parvocellular neurons and released in many different brain areas where it acts as a neuromodulator. It exerts pro-social and anxiolytic effects by promoting attachment, trust, maternal bonding, social affiliation, and eating and metabolic functions. Imbalances in the oxytocinergic system are implicated in neuropsychiatric diseases associated with altered socio-emotional competence, such as autism spectrum disorder, clinical depression, and eating disorders. Also, oxytocin impairments could affect memory formation/persistence and they have been found in some neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, and in several cancers. Although substantial progress has been achieved in understanding single pieces of the complex neurobiology of the oxytocinergic system, the puzzle is far from being complete. It is still unclear how this single neuropeptide could exert such pleiotropic neuromodulatory effects. Extending the comprehension of the mechanisms underlying the complex roles of the oxytocin will be of great interest, as this molecule has the potentiality to be used as a drug treatment.

Oxytocin and Social Function

Oxytocin and Social Function PDF

Author: Wei Wu

Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand

Published: 2024-01-24

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13: 1837691177

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Welcome to the world of Oxytocin and Social Function, an in-depth exploration of the powerful role of this neuropeptide in shaping our social behaviors and interactions. The book delves into the rich and complex relationship between oxytocin and our social functions. Featuring contributions from leading experts in the field, this book offers a comprehensive understanding of oxytocin’s role in our social lives. It goes beyond the laboratory to explore the hormone’s potential in real-world applications. The book also highlights recent research on oxytocin’s role in enhancing empathy, reducing stress, and promoting overall well-being. With this book, readers will gain a deeper understanding of the intricate workings of oxytocin and how it shapes our social behaviors and relationships. Oxytocin and Social Function is a must-read for anyone interested in human behavior, psychology, neuroscience, or the ever-growing field of oxytocin research. Turn the page and embark on a captivating journey into the hidden potentials of oxytocin and its transformative effects on our social function.

The Female Brain

The Female Brain PDF

Author: Louann Brizendine, MD

Publisher: Harmony

Published: 2007-08-07

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13: 0767928415

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Since Dr. Brizendine wrote The Female Brain ten years ago, the response has been overwhelming. This New York Times bestseller has been translated into more than thirty languages, has sold nearly a million copies between editions, and has most recently inspired a romantic comedy starring Whitney Cummings and Sofia Vergara. And its profound scientific understanding of the nature and experience of the female brain continues to guide women as they pass through life stages, to help men better understand the girls and women in their lives, and to illuminate the delicate emotional machinery of a love relationship. Why are women more verbal than men? Why do women remember details of fights that men can’t remember at all? Why do women tend to form deeper bonds with their female friends than men do with their male counterparts? These and other questions have stumped both sexes throughout the ages. Now, pioneering neuropsychiatrist Louann Brizendine, M.D., brings together the latest findings to show how the unique structure of the female brain determines how women think, what they value, how they communicate, and who they love. While doing research as a medical student at Yale and then as a resident and faculty member at Harvard, Louann Brizendine discovered that almost all of the clinical data in existence on neurology, psychology, and neurobiology focused exclusively on males. In response to the overwhelming need for information on the female mind, Brizendine established the first clinic in the country to study and treat women’s brain function. In The Female Brain, Dr. Brizendine distills all her findings and the latest information from the scientific community in a highly accessible book that educates women about their unique brain/body/behavior. The result: women will come away from this book knowing that they have a lean, mean, communicating machine. Men will develop a serious case of brain envy.

Animal Models for Examining Social Influences on Drug Addiction

Animal Models for Examining Social Influences on Drug Addiction PDF

Author:

Publisher: Academic Press

Published: 2018-09-04

Total Pages: 329

ISBN-13: 0128154705

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Animal Models for Examining Social Influences on Drug Addiction, Volume 140 in the International Review of Neurobiology series, provides insights on social factors that mediate drug addiction. This book discusses current research and projects, with specific chapters focusing on Social Influences on Nicotine-related Behaviors in Rodents, Models of Alcohol Intake in Social Contexts, Social Factors in Ethanol Sensitization, Social Modulation of Heroin Intake, Amphetamines and Social Aspects of Addiction, Amphetamines and Social Aspects of Addiction, Social Models of Cannabis Use, Oxytocin and Rodent Models of Addiction, Social Place Preference and Reward, Social Defeat Stress, and more. Covers the often neglected topic of social factors that mediate drug addiction and its consequences Presents research studies using animal models of addiction that are often ignored Aims to highlight the importance of using paradigms that incorporate social aspects into preclinical addiction studies

Innate

Innate PDF

Author: Kevin J. Mitchell

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2020-03-31

Total Pages: 305

ISBN-13: 0691204152

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"What makes you the way you are--and what makes each of us different from everyone else? In Innate, leading neuroscientist and popular science blogger Kevin Mitchell traces human diversity and individual differences to their deepest level: in the wiring of our brains. Deftly guiding us through important new research, including his own groundbreaking work, he explains how variations in the way our brains develop before birth strongly influence our psychology and behavior throughout our lives, shaping our personality, intelligence, sexuality, and even the way we perceive the world. We all share a genetic program for making a human brain, and the program for making a brain like yours is specifically encoded in your DNA. But, as Mitchell explains, the way that program plays out is affected by random processes of development that manifest uniquely in each person, even identical twins. The key insight of Innate is that the combination of these developmental and genetic variations creates innate differences in how our brains are wired--differences that impact all aspects of our psychology--and this insight promises to transform the way we see the interplay of nature and nurture. Innate also explores the genetic and neural underpinnings of disorders such as autism, schizophrenia, and epilepsy, and how our understanding of these conditions is being revolutionized. In addition, the book examines the social and ethical implications of these ideas and of new technologies that may soon offer the means to predict or manipulate human traits. Compelling and original, Innate will change the way you think about why and how we are who we are."--Provided by the publisher.

Histamine in the brain

Histamine in the brain PDF

Author: Jian-Sheng Lin

Publisher: Frontiers Media SA

Published: 2015-03-18

Total Pages: 100

ISBN-13: 2889194345

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Brain aminergic pathways are organized in parallel and interacting systems, which support a range of functions, from homoeostatic regulations to cognitive, and motivational processes. Despite overlapping functional influences, dopamine, serotonin, noradrenaline and histamine systems provide different contributions to these processes. The histaminergic system, long ignored as a major regulator of the sleep-wake cycle, has now been fully acknowledged also as a major coordinator of attention, learning and memory, decision making. Although histaminergic neurons project widely to the whole brain, they are functionally heterogeneous, a feature which may provide the substrate for differential regulation, in a region-specific manner, of other neurotransmitter systems. Neurochemical preclinical studies have clearly shown that histamine interacts and modulates the release of neurotransmitters that are recognized as major modulators of cognitive processing and motivated behaviours. As a consequence, the histamine system has been proposed as a therapeutic target to treat sleep-wake disorders and cognitive dysfunctions that accompany neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory pathologies. Last decades have witnessed an unexpected explosion of interest in brain histamine system, as new receptors have been discovered and selective ligands synthesised. Nevertheless, the complete picture of the histamine systems fine-tuning and its orchestration with other pathways remains rather elusive. This Research Topic is intended to offer an inter-disciplinary forum that will improve our current understanding of the role of brain histamine and provide the fundamentals necessary to drive innovation in clinical practice and to improve the management and treatment of neurological disorders.

Principles of Gender-Specific Medicine

Principles of Gender-Specific Medicine PDF

Author: Marianne J. Legato

Publisher: Academic Press

Published: 2017-05-15

Total Pages: 792

ISBN-13: 0128035420

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The announcement that we had decoded the human genome in 2000 ushered in a new and unique era in biomedical research and clinical medicine. This Third Edition of Principles of Gender-Specific Medicine focuses, as in the past two editions, on the essentials of sexual dimorphism in human physiology and pathophysiology, but emphasizes the latest information about molecular biology and genomic science in a variety of disciplines. Thus, this edition is a departure from the previous two; the editor solicited individual manuscripts from innovative scientists in a variety of fields rather than the traditional arrangement of sections devoted to the various subspecialties of medicine edited by section chiefs. Wherever it was available, these authors incorporated the latest information about the impact of the genome and the elements that modify its expression on human physiology and illness. All chapters progress translationally from basic science to the clinical applications of gender-specific therapy and suggest the most important topics for future investigation. This book is essential reading for all biomedical investigators and medical educators involved in gender-specific medicine. It will also be useful for primary care practitioners who need information about the importance of sex and gender in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of illness. Outlines sex-specific differences in normal human function and explains the impact of age, hormones, and environment on the incidence and outcome of illness Reflects the latest information about the molecular basis of the sexual dimorphism in human physiology and the experience of disease Reviews the implications of our ever-improving ability to describe the genetic basis of vulnerability to disease and our capacity to alter the genome itself Illustrates the importance of new NIH guidelines that urge the inclusion of sex as a variable in research protocols

Tryptophan Metabolism: Implications for Biological Processes, Health and Disease

Tryptophan Metabolism: Implications for Biological Processes, Health and Disease PDF

Author: Atilla Engin

Publisher: Humana Press

Published: 2015-04-28

Total Pages: 385

ISBN-13: 3319156306

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This book discusses the relationship between cellular immunity and tryptophan metabolism, as well as its products, serotonin and melatonin, in the development of several diseases and reappraises the common signal transduction pathways of the neurodegenerative diseases, carcinogenesis, immune tolerance, inflammation, hypersensitivity reactions, neuropsychiatric disorders, in addition to bacterial tryptophan biosynthesis and novel antimicrobials. Tryptophan Metabolism: Implications for Biological Processes, Health and Disease presents fundamental information on tryptophan related metabolic pathways and metabolites, implications of these products for specific biological processes, diseases and conditions. This book focuses on effects of tryptophan metabolites on human health and will appeal to researchers, clinicians and students within this field.