1,721,005 research outputs found
Gut Microbiota: A Potential Regulator of Neurodevelopment
Full text linkDuring childhood, our brain is exposed to a variety of environmental inputs that can sculpt synaptic connections and neuronal circuits, with subsequent influence on behavior and learning processes. Critical periods of neurodevelopment are windows of opportunity in which the neuronal circuits are extremely plastic and can be easily subjected to remodeling in response to experience. However, the brain is also more susceptible to aberrant stimuli that might lead to altered developmental trajectories. Intriguingly, postnatal brain development is paralleled by the maturation of the gut microbiota: the ecosystem of symbionts populating our gastro-intestinal tract. Recent discoveries have started to unveil an unexpected link between the gut microbiome and neurophysiological processes. Indeed, the commensal bacteria seem to be able to influence host behavioral outcome and neurochemistry through mechanisms which remain poorly understood. Remarkably, the efficacy of the gut flora action appears to be dependent on the timing during postnatal life at which the host gut microbes' signals reaches the brain, suggesting the fascinating possibility of critical periods for this microbiota-driven shaping of host neuronal functions and behavior. Therefore, to understand the importance of the intestinal ecosystem's impact on neuronal circuits functions and plasticity during development and the discovery of the involved molecular mechanisms, will pave the way to identify new and, hopefully, powerful microbiota-based therapeutic interventions for the treatment of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric diseases
The gut-brain connection: Exploring the influence of the gut microbiota on neuroplasticity and neurodevelopmental disorders
Full text linkNeuroplasticity refers to the ability of brain circuits to reorganize and change the properties of the network, resulting in alterations in brain function and behavior. It is traditionally believed that neuroplasticity is influenced by external stimuli, learning, and experience. Intriguingly, there is new evidence suggesting that endogenous signals from the body's periphery may play a role. The gut microbiota, a diverse community of microorganisms living in harmony with their host, may be able to influence plasticity through its modulation of the gut-brain axis. Interestingly, the maturation of the gut microbiota coincides with critical periods of neurodevelopment, during which neural circuits are highly plastic and potentially vulnerable. As such, dysbiosis (an imbalance in the gut microbiota composition) during early life may contribute to the disruption of normal developmental trajectories, leading to neurodevelopmental disorders. This review aims to examine the ways in which the gut microbiota can affect neuroplasticity. It will also discuss recent research linking gastrointestinal issues and bacterial dysbiosis to various neurodevelopmental disorders and their potential impact on neurological outcomes
MicroRNA212/132 family: Molecular transducer of neuronal function and plasticity
No full textMicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that mediate post-transcriptional gene silencing. It is increasingly clear that miRNAs are key regulatory factors for a tight gene expression control. MiRNAs are involved in many aspects of organism development and function, in physiological and pathological conditions. MiRNA expression varies with cell type, tissue and developmental stages. The microRNA212/132 family is one of the most studied miRNA family due to the involvement of miR132 and miR212 in important cellular processes, especially in the brain. MiR132 and miR212 have been implicated in tissue development and in the formation and plasticity of neuronal connections. The main aim of this review is to highlight recent discoveries about miR212/132 family functions and its possible involvement in pathological processes
Molecular Mechanisms Underlying the Bioactive Properties of a Ketogenic Diet
No full textThe consumption of a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet (ketogenic diet) has diverse effects on health and is expected to have therapeutic value in neurological disorders, metabolic syndrome, and cancer. Recent studies have shown that a ketogenic diet not only pronouncedly shifts the cellular metabolism to pseudo-starvation, but also exerts a variety of physiological functions on various or-gans through metabolites that act as energy substrates, signaling molecules, and epigenetic modifiers. In this review, we highlight the latest findings on the molecular mechanisms of a ketogenic diet and speculate on the significance of these functions in the context of the epigenome and microbiome. Unraveling the molecular basis of the bioactive effects of a ketogenic diet should provide solid evidence for its clinical application in a variety of diseases including cancer
Editorial: Common tune, different players: emerging molecular guiding factors in development and activity dependent remodelling of different neural circuits
No full textCircadian Coordination of Antimicrobial Responses
Full text linkMicrobial infection poses a threat to organismal homeostasis and therefore must be efficiently counteracted by host defense mechanisms. It has been recently demonstrated that the immune system may anticipate an emerging pathogenic exposure through a heightened inflammatory state. Such anticipatory responses to fluctuating environmental conditions are typically orchestrated by the circadian clock, an intrinsic time-keeping system that adapts tissue physiology to diurnal variations in external influences. Here, we review current knowledge about the interplay between the circadian clock and antimicrobial responses. We summarize the molecular strategies employed by the circadian system against specific pathogens, the core-clock proteins as well as cells in which they are expressed that mediate host defense, and the consequences of circadian variations on immune function. Furthermore, we highlight the possible implications of such circadian gating in immune reactions against pathogenic infections for the chronopharmacology of antibacterial and antiviral therapies
Dynamic DNA methylation in the brain: a new epigenetic mark for experience-dependent plasticity
Full text linkExperience-dependent plasticity is the ability of brain circuits to undergo molecular, structural and functional changes as a function of neural activity. Neural activity continuously shapes our brain during all the stages of our life, from infancy through adulthood and beyond. Epigenetic modifications of histone proteins and DNA seem to be a leading molecular mechanism to modulate the transcriptional changes underlying the fine-tuning of synaptic connections and circuitry rewiring during activity-dependent plasticity. The recent discovery that cytosine methylation is an epigenetic mark particularly dynamic in brain cells has strongly increased the interest of neuroscientists in understanding the role of covalent modifications of DNA in activity-induced remodeling of neuronal circuits. Here, we provide an overview of the role of DNA methylation and hydroxylmethylation in brain plasticity both during adulthood, with emphasis on learning and memory related processes, and during postnatal development, focusing specifically on experience-dependent plasticity in the visual cortex
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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