...Studies have shown that in rodents and nonhuman primates there are individual genetic differences that are influenced by maternal care. This includes, but may not be limited to behavioural responses and the HPA stress response. The development of the HPA stress response in rodents is altered by maternal behaviour by localized tissue effects on gene transcription. This also affects the expression of glucocorticoid receptor in the forebrain, an activity that inhibits HPA activity via negative feedback inhibition. Childhood adversity and familial function are linked to altered HPA responses to stress and are associated with a heightened risk of several forms of psychopathology. Scientific evidence suggests that many psychopathological risk factors linked to suicide, schizophrenia and mood disorders, are associated with decreased hippocampal glucocorticoid receptor expression....
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...effects through the activation of several mechanisms that linked to the onset of a variety of affective disorders. Investigations on the interaction between stress and memory experiences focused mainly on behavioral and neurological mechanisms of memory conformation (such as conditional fear), and fewer studies on the fear memory extinction as a treatment for psychiatric conditions based on learned fears Such as phobias, PTSD, and general anxiety. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that's triggered by a terrifying event — either experiencing it or witnessing it. Pavlovian conditional fear is widely used as a model for stress induction and anxiety disorders. The induction of conditional...
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...which relates to the central nervous system; hence behavioral techniques have been used in both animal and human model to further understand the central nervous system. These tests have been widely used to look at the pharmalogical efficacy and the mechanism of depression, anxiety, addiction, memory other mental complications. These techniques are relatively more cost efficient, simple, and easy to conduct, therefore it is widely used. The aim of this paper is to review the advantages, and disadvantages of such techniques and what have been discovered using such techniques. DEPRESSION Depression is a growing concern around the world, and anti-depressants available are not always effect for each individual. In addition, the therapeutic effect of all anti-depressant can be only seen only after a few weeks after administration, therefore having a much delayed therapeutic effect (Lopex-Rodriguez et al., 2004). Hence the forced swim test (FST) is used in numerous studies in expectation to help improve the efficacy and development of antidepressants. The FST, also known as the “behavioural despair test”, due to its ease of use, and inter-lab reliability and specificity, it is very common technique to assess depression and assess efficacy of antidepressant in animal models, typically in rodents. In a FST, a rodent is placed in a pool filled with water which rodents cannot escape from. Data observed are usually scored in three diverse behaviors, immobility, swimming and climbing...
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...research has demonstrated that neuroplasticity is disrupted in mood disorders as well as in animal models of stress. Pittenger and Duman (2008) hypothesize that chronic stress, which typically precipitates or exacerbates depression, disrupts neuroplasticity, where antidepressant treatment can produce the opposite effect and enhance neuroplasticity. There are different levels of neuroplasticity such as structural plasticity, functional synaptic plasticity, as well as the molecular and cellular mechanisms accompanying such changes. In Pittenger and Duman’s (2008) article, meant primarily for the medical community, these factors are discussed in great detail. The last 50 years have seen breakthroughs in the discovery of different categories...
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...Duman and Li (2012) describe findings of reduced limbic brain structures in brains of depressed patients in particular a reduction in mass of the hippocampus and PFC. They also described preclinical studies which found participants who were exposed to stress regularly, in the hippocampus and PFC of their brains there was evidence of neuronal atrophy as well as loss of glial cells and neuronal cells seem to contribute to mood disorders such as MDD. Duman and Li (2012) highlighted that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is one of the most studied neurotrophic factors and rodent models have found a correlation between various types of stress and a reduction in BDNF in the PFC and hippocampus. Duman and Li (2012) explained these findings had also been observed in the post-mortem studies of depressed human participants and further went on to explain that with antidepressant treatment such as SSRIs and SNRIs, BDNF had been observed to increase in expression in the before mentioned areas. Duman and Li (2012) reiterate however that these results are after the use of these antidepressants over a period of time and do not show any changes in the acute use of the...
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...Animal models that are generally employed in the investigation of the neuronal substrates of fear, offer two major advantages. First, they can allow the study of single-gene and/or cell-types modifications in a well-defined genetic background under environmentally controlled and reproducible conditions. Second, emotions such as fear behaviors, involve relatively primitive circuits that are conserved throughout mammalian evolution (LeDoux, 2000), therefore allowing animal models systems different from humans to be a well suitable candidate to reveal brain circuits underlying specific behavioral responses and mechanisms that ultimately regulates emotional learning and memory. In particular, the experimental acquisition of fear responses serves as a powerful model for studying associative learning and memory formation that are necessary to allow an organism to cope with challenging environmental modifications. Fear can be evoked by innate...
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...could cause harm to human beings. While animal testing may provide reliable scientific research, our ethics as human beings proves there are more reliable ways to obtain research, without harming animals. Scientists have been using animals for testing for a very long time, and no one doubted it. Until we saw pictures of these animals, dogs, cats, bunnies, rats most famously, primates, and many other species of animals that we bring into our home, feed and call our family members being tortured, burned with chemicals, and injected with toxic substances and many other forms. Animal testing is rarely performed with the comfort of the animals in mind. Rodents are forced to live in crammed conditions and larger animals are forced to live in spaces so small that they aren’t able to stretch their legs. This causes extreme physiological stress on the animals, causing test results to be inaccurate. Experts say that 90% of tests that prove to be safe on animals turn out to be dangerous to humans. Additionally, animals are often tested for things are not related to the safety of humans. For example, most experiments relating to the brain for instance are done by scientist making the animals in pain to see what changes take place in the brain during this moment. Almost never are the animals given any type of pain relief and most of them are left to suffer, until they die. “In addition to the capacity to experience physical and psychological pain or...
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...Jason Kimel English 122 Essay #3 Animal testing is a very controversial topic to discuss. The research of animals is defined as the use of chemicals to test on different parts of the animal’s body. Products such as mascara are applied to an animal’s eye, or lipstick is applied to an animal’s lips to see any reaction it may impose on a human. The results based on the animal experimentation will let the scientists know if the chemical or product is safe to use for all ages of people. “Scientists are closer than ever to finding the cures for AIDS, cancer and other deadly illnesses. But more research and testing are needed and much of it must be done on animals.” (Epstein and Brook 604) There are many aspects to animal testing that are for the better, but there also is a bad side to this topic. Animal testing has become a big issue of debate. Some people agree with it, and some disagree. No matter what anyone thinks about the issue, the fact remains that most animal testing is done for a reason and has its benefits and drawbacks. Animal testing was first discovered by Charles Darwin to better study human beings. Since then, animals have been subjected to every test science has to offer. One of the most pointless and cruel tests done on animals, in my opinion, is testing cosmetics. Everything from perfume to soap is tested on the animal to see if it will be harmful in any way to humans. This test is done by pouring some kind of chemical or substance onto the animal's skin...
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...By Lynne Wood PSY 330: Instructor Kimberly McCann April 8, 2013 . Behavior I selected behaviors to learn about why people react or do some things, things we observe and hear about as well. I feel that by assimilating and learning more about behaviors, how they work and how they came into place, it will assistance me with not only my future classes, but the path I chose for a career. Digging into some of the theories of behavior and what constitutes abnormal and normal behaviors, and then attempting to understand why some people possibly develop disorders, while under the same or adverse conditions others do not, greatly aroused my interest. In this paper I will attempt to touch on a few of the founders of behavioral theories and models that have influenced our ways of thinking and brought about what we have come to know today as Behaviorism or Behavioral Psychology which is one of the key points in understanding theories of personalities. Behaviorism is a theory that encompasses the idea that all behaviors are learned, and through modifying or changing ones behavior can bring about and the desired response obtained. A strength related to the behavioral theories would be attempting to learn and understand what are the causes or reasons for our behaviors, focusing on behaviors and learning how they came about, are either observed, taught or both we may have a better understanding of why people act or do things. So what we observe or can manipulate would be one of its...
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...Alzheimer’s Disease a Fight for Information and Understanding ABSTRACT Alzheimer’s disease slowly deteriorates the brain, causing loss of both memory and the ability to control emotion. This review will discuss possible indicators, hypothesized causes, and both current and experimental treatments of Alzheimer’s. The disease mostly affects people over the age of 60 but can occur earlier. The problem with detecting Alzheimer’s early is that there are no clear indicators, and the changes in the brain progress before symptoms in the patient are visible. It’s hypothesized that the main cause of Alzheimer’s is neuronal plasticity and a build up of plaques. The plasticity leads to neuron tangles, causing blocks in synaptic signaling. Research on assays for detecting amyloid-beta ligands and disease treatments will need to involve human trails for future investigation. KEY WORDS: Alzheimer’s disease, neuronal plasticity, Tau-directed Therapy, amyloid-beta ligands, dementia INTRODUCTION Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a deteriorating disease of the brain that attacks neurons throughout the cerebral cortex and the hippocampus.1,2 The deterioration the cerebral cortex leads to the impairment of a person’s ability to control emotion, coordination, and the ability to comprehend configurations.6 The loss of memory caused by AD comes from the deterioration of the hippocampus.5 Alzheimer’s is most common in people 65 years or older, however for people with early onset Alzheimer’s...
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...Most organizations claim: “Animal testing should be banned because most animals subjected to testing go through unnecessary pain; those who survive are promptly euthanized”. Animal testing is outlined by guiding principles for the ethical use of animals-”The Three R’s” The Three R’s are used in labs and are “Replacement, Reduction, Refinement”. Replacement: Findinging an alternative to having to use animals in the researched, Reduction: limiting the amount of animals they need to use for the experiment, or obtain more results for the animals used, and Refinement: using methods to make the process as painless as possible and reducing the stress that the animal experiments. While not all laboratories dance along these guiding principles, it proves that some do animal experimentation as a necessary evil for results but try to make it as painless as possible; that’s why animal testing shouldn’t be banned. We need it for human advancement, and some people try to make it as humane as possible; trying to avoid it if they can. While most...
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...ethically wrong to treat other species harshly/callously or even just differently on the bases that they are not (in this case) Homo sapiens. Speciesism is the main factor of such ethical issue being raised. Concerned people think rights of animals should be considered and also their consent must be counted i.e. don’t experiment on them. Many critics worry about losing humanity due to this universal issue, they have a theory that working with animals that suffer continuously can deaden emotions of many researcher and so say that this could be a step away from being comfortable with human suffering, they believe an individual could be ‘mentally’ affected when working consistently with lab animals. Also, pain would cause animal to be under stress so this can mess up experimental results. And It is the belief of many people that unnecessary lab animals for apparent educational purposes results in no respect of animal life and their rights as well as discouraging potential science students to select different fields of studies. Main reason of opposing animal research is of course the...
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...Chronic Stress-Induced Neurobehavioral and Biochemical Perturbations in Rats* Gireesh Kumar Singh1, Geeta Rai2, Shyam Sunder Chatterjee3†, Vikas Kumar1# 1 Neuropharmacology Research Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutics, Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India 2 Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Faculty of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India 3 Stettiner Str. 1, D-76138 Karlsruhe, Germany Email: #vikas.phe@itbhu.ac.in Received September 30, 2011; revised November 17, 2011; accepted November 28, 2011 ABSTRACT Objective: To evaluate the anti-stress activity of standardized extract of Fumaria indica (FI) through validated behavioral models of rodents followed by estimation of biochemical changes associated with chronic stress. Methods: Fifty percent ethanolic extract of FI used in this study was standardized on its contents of fumaric acid and its conjugates (0.45% and 0.35% respectively). Stressed Charles Foster rats received unpredictable foot shocks (2 mA, 1 hr, 14 days) through electric grid. FI was given orally as 0.3% carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) suspension in 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg doses. For comparison, Panax ginseng (PG) extract (100 mg/kg, p.o.) was used as standard adaptogen. Incidence of gastric ulceration, changes in weight of adrenal and spleen, behavioral depression, cognitive dysfunction test and suppression of sexual behavior in male rats were used as validated behavioral models. Plasma...
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...Latin word, “tinnire,” which means to ring, tinnitus is commonly experienced as high-pitched noise with mechanical, electrical, or musical qualities. The underlying pathophysiology of tinnitus is unclear. It seems unlikely there is a single underlying cause, but tinnitus may accompany almost any auditory dysfunction. Damage to the middle ear, cochlea, audiovestibular nerve, and cerebral pathways between the cochlear nucleus and primary auditory cortex may explain its origins (Holmes and Padgham, 2009). Tinnitus is the most common injury arising from the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. About 75% of young adults who attend nightclubs and concerts experience temporary tinnitus from the loud music. Tinnitus also may arise during periods of stress, like finals week for college students. Tinnitus may be unilateral or bilateral. It...
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...colonial era until now. In this essay I mainly discuss about the issues of the Maori health before colonization, during colonization, and after colonization. I had used the different methods of research to analyze the data for the issues of Maori health. The research methods used are complete online research method text, course resources and reading and analyzing data from different books as literary review. A systematic review of the literature was undertaken to locate relevant information on Maori health. The review formed the body of work on which this essay was based. The literature search was limited to work published between 1900 and 2010 in six subject areas: Maori health in early 1900 till present day, Maori concepts and models, Maori health models, Maori and disability, Treaty of Waitangi and Maori health. The databases searched included all of the New Zealand university library catalogues, the City Library and Google Scholar. Sources that appeared to be relevant were entered into the Reference. In 1769 James Cook concluded that Maori were healthy race .Prior to settlement by Europeans, Maori had been protected from many illnesses because of New Zealand’s Isolation from the large population centers of the world. Now a day’s Maori are recognized as being over represented statistically in poor health issues. Health statistics reveal that Maori have higher rates of cardio vascular disease, obesity, smoking, cancer, asthma mortality, mental illness, suicide, and mortality...
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