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Riyahi J, Taslimi Z, Gelfo F, Petrosini L, Haghparast A. Trans-generational effects of parental exposure to drugs of abuse on offspring memory functions. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 160:105644. [PMID: 38548003 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2024] [Revised: 03/10/2024] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/01/2024]
Abstract
Recent evidence reported that parental-derived phenotypes can be passed on to the next generations. Within the inheritance of epigenetic characteristics allowing the transmission of information related to the ancestral environment to the offspring, the specific case of the trans-generational effects of parental drug addiction has been extensively studied. Drug addiction is a chronic disorder resulting from complex interactions among environmental, genetic, and drug-related factors. Repeated exposures to drugs induce epigenetic changes in the reward circuitry that in turn mediate enduring changes in brain function. Addictive drugs can exert their effects trans-generally and influence the offspring of addicted parents. Although there is growing evidence that shows a wide range of behavioral, physiological, and molecular phenotypes in inter-, multi-, and trans-generational studies, transmitted phenotypes often vary widely even within similar protocols. Given the breadth of literature findings, in the present review, we restricted our investigation to learning and memory performances, as examples of the offspring's complex behavioral outcomes following parental exposure to drugs of abuse, including morphine, cocaine, cannabinoids, nicotine, heroin, and alcohol.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javad Riyahi
- Department of Cognitive and Behavioral Science and Technology in Sport, Faculty of Sport Sciences and Health, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Zahra Taslimi
- Behavioral Disorders and Substance Abuse Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran; Fertility and Infertility Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
| | - Francesca Gelfo
- IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy; Department of Human Sciences, Guglielmo Marconi University, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Abbas Haghparast
- Neuroscience Research Center, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; School of Cognitive Sciences, Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Department of Basic Sciences, Iranian Academy of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
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Abstract
Whereas emotion theorists often keep their distance from the embodied approach, theorists of embodiment tend to treat emotion as a mainly physiologic process. However, intimate links between emotions and the body suggest that emotions are privileged phenomena to attempt to reintegrate mind and body and that the body helps the mind in shaping emotional responses. To date, research has favored the cerebrum over other parts of the brain as a substrate of embodied emotions. However, given the widely demonstrated contribution of the cerebellum to emotional processing, research in affective neuroscience should consider embodiment theory as a useful approach for evaluating the cerebellar role in emotion and affect. The aim of this review is to insert the cerebellum among the structures needed to embody emotions, providing illustrative examples of cerebellar involvement in embodied emotions (as occurring in empathic abilities) and in impaired identification and expression of embodied emotions (as occurring in alexithymia).
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Debora Cutuli
- Santa Lucia Foundation IRCCS, Rome, Italy
- Department of Psychology, University Sapienza of Rome, Rome, Italy
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3
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Picazio S, Magnani B, Koch G, Oliveri M, Petrosini L. Frontal and cerebellar contributions to pitch and rhythm processing: a TMS study. Brain Struct Funct 2024:10.1007/s00429-024-02764-w. [PMID: 38403781 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-024-02764-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 02/27/2024]
Abstract
Music represents a salient stimulus for the brain with two key features: pitch and rhythm. Few data are available on cognitive analysis of music listening in musically naïve healthy participants. Beyond auditory cortices, neuroimaging data showed the involvement of prefrontal cortex in pitch and of cerebellum in rhythm. The present study is aimed at investigating the role of prefrontal and cerebellar cortices in both pitch and rhythm processing. The performance of fifteen participants without musical expertise was investigated in a listening discrimination task. The task required to decide whether two eight-element melodic sequences were equal or different according to pitch or rhythm characteristics. Before the task, we applied a protocol of continuous theta burst transcranial magnetic stimulation interfering with the activity of the left cerebellar hemisphere (lCb), right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG), or vertex (Cz-control site), in a within cross-over design. Our results showed that participants were more accurate in pitch than rhythm tasks. Importantly, the reaction times were slower following rIFG or lCb stimulations in both tasks. Notably, frontal and cerebellar stimulations did not induce any motor effect in right and left hand. The present findings point to the role of the fronto-cerebellar network in music processing with a single mechanism for both pitch and rhythm patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Barbara Magnani
- Department of Humanities, Social Sciences and Cultural Industries, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Giacomo Koch
- Santa Lucia Foundation IRCCS, Rome, Italy
- Human Physiology Section, Department of Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Massimiliano Oliveri
- Department of Psychology, Educational Sciences and Human Movement, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
- Neuroteam Life and Science, Palermo, Italy
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4
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Laricchiuta D, Papi M, Decandia D, Panuccio A, Cutuli D, Peciccia M, Mazzeschi C, Petrosini L. The role of glial cells in mental illness: a systematic review on astroglia and microglia as potential players in schizophrenia and its cognitive and emotional aspects. Front Cell Neurosci 2024; 18:1358450. [PMID: 38419655 PMCID: PMC10899480 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2024.1358450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a complex and severe mental disorder that affects approximately 1% of the global population. It is characterized by a wide range of symptoms, including delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech and behavior, and cognitive impairment. Recent research has suggested that the immune system dysregulation may play a significant role in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, and glial cells, such as astroglia and microglia known to be involved in neuroinflammation and immune regulation, have emerged as potential players in this process. The aim of this systematic review is to summarize the glial hallmarks of schizophrenia, choosing as cellular candidate the astroglia and microglia, and focusing also on disease-associated psychological (cognitive and emotional) changes. We conducted a systematic review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. We searched PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science for articles that investigated the differences in astroglia and microglia in patients with schizophrenia, published in the last 5 years. The present systematic review indicates that changes in the density, morphology, and functioning of astroglia and microglia may be involved in the development of schizophrenia. The glial alterations may contribute to the pathogenesis of schizophrenia by dysregulating neurotransmission and immune responses, worsening cognitive capabilities. The complex interplay of astroglial and microglial activation, genetic/epigenetic variations, and cognitive assessments underscores the intricate relationship between biological mechanisms, symptomatology, and cognitive functioning in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Laricchiuta
- Department of Philosophy, Social Sciences and Education, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| | - Martina Papi
- Department of Philosophy, Social Sciences and Education, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| | - Davide Decandia
- Laboratory of Experimental and Behavioral Neurophysiology, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy
- Department of Psychology, University Sapienza of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Anna Panuccio
- Laboratory of Experimental and Behavioral Neurophysiology, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy
- Department of Psychology, University Sapienza of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Debora Cutuli
- Laboratory of Experimental and Behavioral Neurophysiology, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy
- Department of Psychology, University Sapienza of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Maurizio Peciccia
- Department of Philosophy, Social Sciences and Education, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| | - Claudia Mazzeschi
- Department of Philosophy, Social Sciences and Education, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| | - Laura Petrosini
- Laboratory of Experimental and Behavioral Neurophysiology, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy
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5
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Gelfo F, Petrosini L, Mandolesi L, Landolfo E, Caruso G, Balsamo F, Bonarota S, Bozzali M, Caltagirone C, Serra L. Land/Water Aerobic Activities: Two Sides of the Same Coin. A Comparative Analysis on the Effects in Cognition of Alzheimer's Disease. J Alzheimers Dis 2024; 98:1181-1197. [PMID: 38552114 DOI: 10.3233/jad-231279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/20/2024]
Abstract
Evidence in the literature indicates that aerobic physical activity may have a protective role in aging pathologies. However, it has not been clarified whether different types of aerobic exercise produce different effects. In particular, these potential differences have not been explored in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The present narrative review has the specific aim of evaluating whether land (walking/running) and water (swimming) aerobic activities exert different effects on cognitive functions and neural correlates in AD patients. In particular, the investigation is carried out by comparing the evidence provided from studies on AD animal models and on patients. On the whole, we ascertained that both human and animal studies documented beneficial effects of land and water aerobic exercise on cognition in AD. Also, the modulation of numerous biological processes is documented in association with structural modifications. Remarkably, we found that aerobic activity appears to improve cognition per se, independently from the specific kind of exercise performed. Aerobic exercise promotes brain functioning through the secretion of molecular factors from skeletal muscles and liver. These molecular factors stimulate neuroplasticity, reduce neuroinflammation, and inhibit neurodegenerative processes leading to amyloid-β accumulation. Additionally, aerobic exercise improves mitochondrial activity, reducing oxidative stress and enhancing ATP production. Aerobic activities protect against AD, but implementing exercise protocols for patients is challenging. We suggest that health policies and specialized institutions should direct increasing attention on aerobic activity as lifestyle modifiable factor for successful aging and age-related conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Gelfo
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
- Department of Human Sciences, Guglielmo Marconi University, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Laura Mandolesi
- Department of Humanities, Federico II University of Naples, Naples, Italy
| | | | | | - Francesca Balsamo
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
- Department of Human Sciences, Guglielmo Marconi University, Rome, Italy
| | - Sabrina Bonarota
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
- Department of Systems Medicine, Tor Vergata University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Marco Bozzali
- Department of Neuroscience 'Rita Levi Montalcini', University of Torino, Turin, Italy
- Department of Neuroscience, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
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Cutuli D, Petrosini L, Gelfo F. Advance in Neurotoxicity Research from Development to Aging. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:15112. [PMID: 37894793 PMCID: PMC10606676 DOI: 10.3390/ijms242015112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
A substance capable of inducing a consistent pattern of neural dysfunction in the chemistry or structure of the nervous system may be defined as neurotoxic [...].
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Affiliation(s)
- Debora Cutuli
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, Italy
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Petrosini
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, Italy
| | - Francesca Gelfo
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, Italy
- Department of Human Sciences, Guglielmo Marconi University, Via Plinio 44, 00193 Rome, Italy
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7
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Laricchiuta D, Gimenez J, Sciamanna G, Termine A, Fabrizio C, Della Valle F, Caioli S, Saba L, De Bardi M, Balsamo F, Panuccio A, Passarello N, Mattioni A, Bisicchia E, Zona C, Orlando V, Petrosini L. Synaptic and transcriptomic features of cortical and amygdala pyramidal neurons predict inefficient fear extinction. Cell Rep 2023; 42:113066. [PMID: 37656620 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Revised: 04/08/2023] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 09/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Fear-related disorders arise from inefficient fear extinction and have immeasurable social and economic costs. Here, we characterize mouse phenotypes that spontaneously show fear-independent behavioral traits predicting adaptive or maladaptive fear extinction. We find that, already before fear conditioning, specific morphological, electrophysiological, and transcriptomic patterns of cortical and amygdala pyramidal neurons predispose to fear-related disorders. Finally, by using an optogenetic approach, we show the possibility to rescue inefficient fear extinction by activating infralimbic pyramidal neurons and to impair fear extinction by activating prelimbic pyramidal neurons.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Giuseppe Sciamanna
- IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, 00143 Rome, Italy; Saint Camillus International University of Health and Medical Sciences, 00131 Rome, Italy
| | | | | | - Francesco Della Valle
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Biological Environmental Science and Engineering Division, KAUST Environmental Epigenetics Program, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Silvia Caioli
- Unit of Neurology, IRCCS Neuromed, 86077 Pozzilli, Isernia, Italy
| | - Luana Saba
- University of Campus Biomedico, 00128 Rome, Italy
| | | | - Francesca Balsamo
- IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, 00143 Rome, Italy; Department of Human Sciences, Guglielmo Marconi University, 00166 Rome, Italy
| | - Anna Panuccio
- IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, 00143 Rome, Italy; Department of Psychology, University Sapienza of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Noemi Passarello
- IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, 00143 Rome, Italy; Department of Humanities, Federico II University of Naples, 80138 Naples, Italy
| | | | | | - Cristina Zona
- Department of Systems Medicine, Tor Vergata University of Rome, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Valerio Orlando
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Biological Environmental Science and Engineering Division, KAUST Environmental Epigenetics Program, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
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8
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Decandia D, Gelfo F, Landolfo E, Balsamo F, Petrosini L, Cutuli D. Dietary Protection against Cognitive Impairment, Neuroinflammation and Oxidative Stress in Alzheimer's Disease Animal Models of Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Inflammation. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24065921. [PMID: 36982996 PMCID: PMC10051444 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24065921] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Revised: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/16/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a rapidly growing epidemic with a heavy social and economic burden. Evidence suggests that systemic inflammation, dysregulation of the immune response and the resulting neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration play a significant role in AD pathogenesis. Currently, given that there is no fully convincing cure for AD, the interest in lifestyle factors (such as diet), which potentially delay onset and reduce the severity of symptoms, is increasing. This review is aimed at summarizing the effects of dietary supplementation on cognitive decline, neuroinflammation and oxidative stress in AD-like animal models with a focus on neuroinflammation induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) injection, which mimics systemic inflammation in animals. The compounds reviewed include curcumin, krill oil, chicoric acid, plasmalogens, lycopene, tryptophan-related dipeptides, hesperetin and selenium peptides. Despite the heterogeneity of these compounds, there is a strong consensus on their counteracting action on LPS-induced cognitive deficits and neuroinflammatory responses in rodents by modulating cell-signaling processes, such as the NF-κB pathway. Overall, dietary interventions could represent an important resource to oppose AD due to their influence in neuroprotection and immune regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Decandia
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, Italy
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Francesca Gelfo
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, Italy
- Department of Human Sciences, Guglielmo Marconi University, Via Plinio 44, 00193 Rome, Italy
| | - Eugenia Landolfo
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, Italy
| | - Francesca Balsamo
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, Italy
- Department of Human Sciences, Guglielmo Marconi University, Via Plinio 44, 00193 Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Petrosini
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, Italy
| | - Debora Cutuli
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, Italy
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Rome, Italy
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9
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Landolfo E, Cutuli D, Decandia D, Balsamo F, Petrosini L, Gelfo F. Environmental Enrichment Protects against Neurotoxic Effects of Lipopolysaccharide: A Comprehensive Overview. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24065404. [PMID: 36982478 PMCID: PMC10049264 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24065404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2023] [Revised: 03/08/2023] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 03/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Neuroinflammation is a pathophysiological condition associated with damage to the nervous system. Maternal immune activation and early immune activation have adverse effects on the development of the nervous system and cognitive functions. Neuroinflammation during adulthood leads to neurodegenerative diseases. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is used in preclinical research to mimic neurotoxic effects leading to systemic inflammation. Environmental enrichment (EE) has been reported to cause a wide range of beneficial changes in the brain. Based on the above, the purpose of the present review is to describe the effects of exposure to EE paradigms in counteracting LPS-induced neuroinflammation throughout the lifespan. Up to October 2022, a methodical search of studies in the literature, using the PubMed and Scopus databases, was performed, focusing on exposure to LPS, as an inflammatory mediator, and to EE paradigms in preclinical murine models. On the basis of the inclusion criteria, 22 articles were considered and analyzed in the present review. EE exerts sex- and age-dependent neuroprotective and therapeutic effects in animals exposed to the neurotoxic action of LPS. EE’s beneficial effects are present throughout the various ages of life. A healthy lifestyle and stimulating environments are essential to counteract the damages induced by neurotoxic exposure to LPS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eugenia Landolfo
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, Italy
| | - Debora Cutuli
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, Italy
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Davide Decandia
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, Italy
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Francesca Balsamo
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, Italy
- Department of Human Sciences, Guglielmo Marconi University, Via Plinio 44, 00193 Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Petrosini
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, Italy
| | - Francesca Gelfo
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, Italy
- Department of Human Sciences, Guglielmo Marconi University, Via Plinio 44, 00193 Rome, Italy
- Correspondence:
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10
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Laricchiuta D, Panuccio A, Picerni E, Biondo D, Genovesi B, Petrosini L. The body keeps the score: The neurobiological profile of traumatized adolescents. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 145:105033. [PMID: 36610696 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2022] [Revised: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 01/02/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Trauma-related disorders are debilitating psychiatric conditions that affect people who have directly or indirectly witnessed adversities. Experiencing multiple types of traumas appears to be common during childhood, and even more so during adolescence. Dramatic brain/body transformations occurring during adolescence may provide a highly responsive substrate to external stimuli and lead to trauma-related vulnerability conditions, such as internalizing (anxiety, depression, anhedonia, withdrawal) and externalizing (aggression, delinquency, conduct disorders) problems. Analyzing relations among neuronal, endocrine, immune, and biochemical signatures of trauma and internalizing and externalizing behaviors, including the role of personality traits in shaping these conducts, this review highlights that the marked effects of traumatic experience on the brain/body involve changes at nearly every level of analysis, from brain structure, function and connectivity to endocrine and immune systems, from gene expression (including in the gut) to the development of personality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Laricchiuta
- Department of Philosophy, Social Sciences & Education, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy.
| | - Anna Panuccio
- Laboratory of Experimental and Behavioral Neurophysiology, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy; Department of Psychology, University Sapienza of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Eleonora Picerni
- Laboratory of Experimental and Behavioral Neurophysiology, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy; Department of Neuroscience Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University "G. d'Annunzio" of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | | | | | - Laura Petrosini
- Laboratory of Experimental and Behavioral Neurophysiology, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
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11
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Gelfo F, Serra L, Petrosini L. New prospects on cerebellar reserve: Remarks on neuroprotective effects of experience in animals and humans. Front Syst Neurosci 2023; 16:1088587. [PMID: 36685287 PMCID: PMC9854258 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2022.1088587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2022] [Accepted: 12/15/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The ability of the brain to change structure and function in response to experience accounts for its ability to successfully adapt to the environment in both learning processes and unique phases, such as during development and repair. On this basis, the occurrence of the brain, cognitive, and neural reserves has been advanced to explain the discrepancies between the extent of neurological damage and the severity of clinical manifestations described in patients with different life span experiences. Research on this topic highlighted the neuroprotective role of complex stimulations, allowing the brain to better cope with the damage. This framework was initially developed by observing patients with Alzheimer's disease, and it has since been progressively expanded to multifarious pathological states. The cerebellum is known to be particularly responsive to experience through extensive plastic rearrangements. The neuroprotective value exerted by reserve mechanisms appears to be suitable for basic neuronal plasticity in the cerebellum. Thus, it is of primary interest to deepen our understanding of how life experiences modify individuals' cerebellar morphology and functionality. The present study is aimed at analyzing the evidence provided on this topic by animal and human studies. For animals, we considered the studies in which subjects were submitted to enhanced stimulations before the damage occurred. For humans, we considered studies in which previous lifelong high-level experiences were associated with superior cerebellar abilities to cope with injury. Detailed indications of the processes underlying cerebellar reserves may be important in proposing effective interventions for patients suffering from pathologies that directly or indirectly damage cerebellar functionality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Gelfo
- Department of Human Sciences, Guglielmo Marconi University, Rome, Italy,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy,*Correspondence: Francesca Gelfo ✉
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12
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Serra L, Petrosini L, Mandolesi L, Bonarota S, Balsamo F, Bozzali M, Caltagirone C, Gelfo F. Walking, Running, Swimming: An Analysis of the Effects of Land and Water Aerobic Exercises on Cognitive Functions and Neural Substrates. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022; 19:16310. [PMID: 36498383 PMCID: PMC9740550 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192316310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2022] [Revised: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 12/02/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
In the brain and cognitive reserves framework, aerobic exercise is considered as a protective lifestyle factor able to induce positive effects on both brain structure and function. However, specific aspects of such a beneficial effect still need to be completely clarified. To this aim, the present narrative review focused on the potential brain/cognitive/neural reserve-construction mechanisms triggered by different aerobic exercise types (land activities; such as walking or running; vs. water activities; such as swimming), by considering human and animal studies on healthy subjects over the entire lifespan. The literature search was conducted in PubMed database. The studies analyzed here indicated that all the considered kinds of activities exert a beneficial effect on cognitive/behavioral functions and on the underlying brain neurobiological processes. In particular, the main effects observed involve the cognitive domains of memory and executive functions. These effects appear related to structural and functional changes mainly involving the fronto-hippocampal axis. The present review supports the requirement of further studies that investigate more specifically and systematically the effects of each type of aerobic activity, as a basis to plan more effective and personalized interventions on individuals as well as prevention and healthy promotion policies for the general population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Serra
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy
| | | | - Laura Mandolesi
- Department of Humanities, Federico II University of Naples, 80138 Naples, Italy
| | - Sabrina Bonarota
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy
- Department of Systems Medicine, Tor Vergata University of Rome, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Francesca Balsamo
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy
- Department of Human Sciences, Guglielmo Marconi University, 00193 Rome, Italy
| | - Marco Bozzali
- Department of Neuroscience ‘Rita Levi Montalcini’, University of Torino, 10126 Turin, Italy
- Department of Neuroscience, Brighton & Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9RY, UK
| | | | - Francesca Gelfo
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy
- Department of Human Sciences, Guglielmo Marconi University, 00193 Rome, Italy
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13
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Laricchiuta D, Termine A, Fabrizio C, Passarello N, Greco F, Piras F, Picerni E, Cutuli D, Marini A, Mandolesi L, Spalletta G, Petrosini L. Only Words Count; the Rest Is Mere Chattering: A Cross-Disciplinary Approach to the Verbal Expression of Emotional Experience. Behav Sci (Basel) 2022; 12:bs12080292. [PMID: 36004863 PMCID: PMC9404916 DOI: 10.3390/bs12080292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Revised: 08/11/2022] [Accepted: 08/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The analysis of sequences of words and prosody, meter, and rhythm provided in an interview addressing the capacity to identify and describe emotions represents a powerful tool to reveal emotional processing. The ability to express and identify emotions was analyzed by means of the Toronto Structured Interview for Alexithymia (TSIA), and TSIA transcripts were analyzed by Natural Language Processing to shed light on verbal features. The brain correlates of the capacity to translate emotional experience into words were determined through cortical thickness measures. A machine learning methodology proved that individuals with deficits in identifying and describing emotions (n = 7) produced language distortions, frequently used the present tense of auxiliary verbs, and few possessive determiners, as well as scarcely connected the speech, in comparison to individuals without deficits (n = 7). Interestingly, they showed high cortical thickness at left temporal pole and low at isthmus of the right cingulate cortex. Overall, we identified the neuro-linguistic pattern of the expression of emotional experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Laricchiuta
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-065-0170-3077
| | | | | | - Noemi Passarello
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy
- Department of Humanities, Federico II University of Naples, 80138 Naples, Italy
| | - Francesca Greco
- Department of Communication and Social Research, Sapienza University of Rome, 00198 Rome, Italy
| | | | | | - Debora Cutuli
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy
- Department of Psychology, University “Sapienza” of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Andrea Marini
- Department of Languages, Literatures, Communication, Education and Society, University of Udine, 33100 Udine, Italy
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- Department of Humanities, Federico II University of Naples, 80138 Naples, Italy
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Serra L, Giancaterino G, Giulietti G, Petrosini L, Di Domenico C, Marra C, Caltagirone C, Bassi A, Cercignani M, Bozzali M. Cognitive Reserve Modulates Brain Structure and Cortical Architecture in the Alzheimer's Disease. J Alzheimers Dis 2022; 89:811-824. [PMID: 35964192 DOI: 10.3233/jad-220377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cognitive reserve (CR) explains the individual resilience to neurodegeneration. OBJECTIVE The present study investigated the effect of CR in modulating brain cortical architecture. METHODS 278 individuals [110 Alzheimer's disease (AD), 104 amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) due to AD, 64 healthy subjects (HS)] underwent a neuropsychological evaluation and 3T-MRI. Cortical thickness (CTh) and fractal dimension (FD) were assessed. Years of formal education were used as an index of CR by which participants were divided into high and low CR (HCR and LCR). Within-group differences in cortical architecture were assessed as a function of CR. Associations between cognitive scores and cortical measures were also evaluated. RESULTS aMCI-HCR compared to aMCI-LCR patients showed significant decrease of CTh in the right temporal and in the left prefrontal lobe. Moreover, they showed increased FD in the right temporal and in the left temporo-parietal lobes. Patients with AD-HCR showed reduced CTh in several brain areas and reduced FD in the left temporal cortices when compared with AD-LCR subjects. HS-HCR showed a significant increase of CTh in prefrontal areas bilaterally, and in the right parieto-occipital cortices. Finally, aMCI-HCR showed significant positive associations between brain measures and memory and executive performance. CONCLUSION CR modulates the cortical architecture at pre-dementia stage only. Indeed, only patients with aMCI showed both atrophy (likely due to neurodegeneration) alongside richer brain folding (likely due to reserve mechanisms) in temporo-parietal areas. This opposite trend was not observed in AD and HS. Our data confirm the existence of a limited time-window for CR modulation at the aMCI stage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Serra
- Neuroimaging Laboratory, Fondazione Santa Lucia, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | | | | | - Laura Petrosini
- Laboratory of Experimental and Behavioural Neurophysiology, Fondazione Santa Lucia, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Camillo Marra
- Institute of Neurology, Catholic University, Rome, Italy
| | - Carlo Caltagirone
- Department of Clinicaland Behavioural Neurology, Fondazione Santa Lucia, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Andrea Bassi
- Department of Clinicaland Behavioural Neurology, Fondazione Santa Lucia, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Mara Cercignani
- Cardiff University Brain Imaging Centre, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom
| | - Marco Bozzali
- Brighton & Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex -Brighton, United Kingdom.,Rita Levi Montalcini' Department of Neuroscience University of Torino, Turin, Italy
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Riyahi J, Abdoli B, Gelfo F, Petrosini L, Khatami L, Meftahi GH, Haghparast A. Multigenerational effects of paternal spatial training are lasting in the F1 and F2 male offspring. Behav Pharmacol 2022; 33:342-354. [PMID: 35502983 DOI: 10.1097/fbp.0000000000000682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Recent studies on intergenerational transmission of learning and memory performances demonstrated that parental spatial training before fertilization could facilitate learning and memory in the offspring, but many questions remain unclarified. Essential issues regarding whether and how long the effects of parental training in a task can last in several generations, and whether learning a task repeated in the successive generations can enhance a load of multigenerational effects. In the present study, the spatial performances of F1 and F2 generations of male offspring of fathers or grandfathers spatially trained in the Morris Water Maze were evaluated and compared with the performance of a control sample matched for age and sex. Further, to investigate the memory process in F1 and F2 male offspring, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), p-ERK1/2 and acetylated histone 3 lysine 14 (H3K14) expression levels in the hippocampus were analyzed. The findings showed that paternal training reduced escape latencies and increased time spent in the target quadrant by F1 and F2 male offspring. Besides, paternal spatial training repeated in two generations did not enhance the beneficial effects on offspring's spatial performances. These findings were supported by neurobiologic data showing that paternal training increased BDNF and p-ERK1/2 in the hippocampus of F1 and F2 male offspring. Furthermore, the hippocampal level of acetylated H3K14 increased in the offspring of spatially trained fathers, reinforcing the hypothesis that the augmented histone acetylation might play an essential role in the inheritance of spatial competence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javad Riyahi
- Neuroscience Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences
| | - Behrouz Abdoli
- Department of Cognitive and Behavioral Science and Technology in Sport, Faculty of Sport Sciences and Health, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Francesca Gelfo
- IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation
- Department of Human Sciences, Guglielmo Marconi University, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Leila Khatami
- School of Cognitive Sciences, Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM), Tehran, Iran
- Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA
| | | | - Abbas Haghparast
- Neuroscience Research Center, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical sciences, Tehran, Iran
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Termine A, Fabrizio C, Caltagirone C, Petrosini L. A Reproducible Deep-Learning-Based Computer-Aided Diagnosis Tool for Frontotemporal Dementia Using MONAI and Clinica Frameworks. Life (Basel) 2022; 12:947. [PMID: 35888037 PMCID: PMC9323676 DOI: 10.3390/life12070947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2022] [Revised: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 06/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite Artificial Intelligence (AI) being a leading technology in biomedical research, real-life implementation of AI-based Computer-Aided Diagnosis (CAD) tools into the clinical setting is still remote due to unstandardized practices during development. However, few or no attempts have been made to propose a reproducible CAD development workflow for 3D MRI data. In this paper, we present the development of an easily reproducible and reliable CAD tool using the Clinica and MONAI frameworks that were developed to introduce standardized practices in medical imaging. A Deep Learning (DL) algorithm was trained to detect frontotemporal dementia (FTD) on data from the NIFD database to ensure reproducibility. The DL model yielded 0.80 accuracy (95% confidence intervals: 0.64, 0.91), 1 sensitivity, 0.6 specificity, 0.83 F1-score, and 0.86 AUC, achieving a comparable performance with other FTD classification approaches. Explainable AI methods were applied to understand AI behavior and to identify regions of the images where the DL model misbehaves. Attention maps highlighted that its decision was driven by hallmarking brain areas for FTD and helped us to understand how to improve FTD detection. The proposed standardized methodology could be useful for benchmark comparison in FTD classification. AI-based CAD tools should be developed with the goal of standardizing pipelines, as varying pre-processing and training methods, along with the absence of model behavior explanations, negatively impact regulators' attitudes towards CAD. The adoption of common best practices for neuroimaging data analysis is a step toward fast evaluation of efficacy and safety of CAD and may accelerate the adoption of AI products in the healthcare system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Termine
- Data Science Unit, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, 00143 Rome, Italy; (A.T.); (C.F.)
| | - Carlo Fabrizio
- Data Science Unit, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, 00143 Rome, Italy; (A.T.); (C.F.)
| | - Carlo Caltagirone
- Department of Clinical and Behavioral Neurology, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, 00179 Rome, Italy;
| | - Laura Petrosini
- Experimental and Behavioral Neurophysiology, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, 00143 Rome, Italy
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Cutuli D, Landolfo E, Decandia D, Nobili A, Viscomi MT, La Barbera L, Sacchetti S, De Bartolo P, Curci A, D’Amelio M, Farioli-Vecchioli S, Petrosini L. Correction: Cutuli et al. Neuroprotective Role of Dietary Supplementation with Omega-3 Fatty Acids in the Presence of Basal Forebrain Cholinergic Neurons Degeneration in Aged Mice. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21, 1741. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23136916. [PMID: 35806494 PMCID: PMC9266950 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23136916] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2021] [Accepted: 05/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Debora Cutuli
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy; (E.L.); (D.D.); (A.N.); (M.T.V.); (L.L.B.); (P.D.B.); (M.D.); (L.P.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-06501703077
| | - Eugenia Landolfo
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy; (E.L.); (D.D.); (A.N.); (M.T.V.); (L.L.B.); (P.D.B.); (M.D.); (L.P.)
- Department of Psychology, University of Rome “Sapienza”, 00185 Rome, Italy; (S.S.); (A.C.)
| | - Davide Decandia
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy; (E.L.); (D.D.); (A.N.); (M.T.V.); (L.L.B.); (P.D.B.); (M.D.); (L.P.)
- Department of Psychology, University of Rome “Sapienza”, 00185 Rome, Italy; (S.S.); (A.C.)
| | - Annalisa Nobili
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy; (E.L.); (D.D.); (A.N.); (M.T.V.); (L.L.B.); (P.D.B.); (M.D.); (L.P.)
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University “Campus Biomedico”, 00128 Rome, Italy
| | - Maria Teresa Viscomi
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy; (E.L.); (D.D.); (A.N.); (M.T.V.); (L.L.B.); (P.D.B.); (M.D.); (L.P.)
- Department of Life Science and Public Health Section of Histology and Embryology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy
| | - Livia La Barbera
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy; (E.L.); (D.D.); (A.N.); (M.T.V.); (L.L.B.); (P.D.B.); (M.D.); (L.P.)
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University “Campus Biomedico”, 00128 Rome, Italy
| | - Stefano Sacchetti
- Department of Psychology, University of Rome “Sapienza”, 00185 Rome, Italy; (S.S.); (A.C.)
| | - Paola De Bartolo
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy; (E.L.); (D.D.); (A.N.); (M.T.V.); (L.L.B.); (P.D.B.); (M.D.); (L.P.)
- Department of Human Sciences, Guglielmo Marconi University, 00193 Rome, Italy
| | - Annacarmen Curci
- Department of Psychology, University of Rome “Sapienza”, 00185 Rome, Italy; (S.S.); (A.C.)
| | - Marcello D’Amelio
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy; (E.L.); (D.D.); (A.N.); (M.T.V.); (L.L.B.); (P.D.B.); (M.D.); (L.P.)
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University “Campus Biomedico”, 00128 Rome, Italy
| | | | - Laura Petrosini
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy; (E.L.); (D.D.); (A.N.); (M.T.V.); (L.L.B.); (P.D.B.); (M.D.); (L.P.)
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18
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Decandia D, Landolfo E, Sacchetti S, Gelfo F, Petrosini L, Cutuli D. n-3 PUFA Improve Emotion and Cognition during Menopause: A Systematic Review. Nutrients 2022; 14:nu14091982. [PMID: 35565948 PMCID: PMC9100978 DOI: 10.3390/nu14091982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2022] [Revised: 04/29/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Women show an increased risk of cognitive impairment and emotional disorders, such as anxiety and depression, when approaching menopause. Data on risk and protection factors have yielded robust evidence on the effects of lifestyle factors, such as diet, in preserving emotional and cognitive functioning. This review focused on the effects of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) on anxiety, depression, and cognition during the menopausal transition. This systematic review considered all articles published until 31 December 2021, and the search was performed on two databases, PubMed and Scopus. The fields of interest were "menopause", "n-3 PUFA" and "emotional and cognitive aspects". Out of the 361 articles found on PubMed and 283 on Scopus, 17 met inclusion criteria. They encompassed 11 human and 6 animal studies. Most studies reported relieved depressive symptoms in relation to n-3 PUFA intake. While controversial results were found on anxiety and cognition in humans, n-3 PUFA consistently reduced anxiety symptoms and improved cognition in animal studies. Taken together, n-3 PUFA intake shows beneficial effects on emotional and cognitive behaviours during menopause transition. However, further investigations could increase knowledge about the effectiveness of n-3 PUFA on psychological well-being in this delicate period of feminine life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Decandia
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, Italy; (E.L.); (S.S.); (F.G.); (L.P.); (D.C.)
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Rome, Italy
- Correspondence:
| | - Eugenia Landolfo
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, Italy; (E.L.); (S.S.); (F.G.); (L.P.); (D.C.)
| | - Stefano Sacchetti
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, Italy; (E.L.); (S.S.); (F.G.); (L.P.); (D.C.)
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Francesca Gelfo
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, Italy; (E.L.); (S.S.); (F.G.); (L.P.); (D.C.)
- Department of Human Sciences, Guglielmo Marconi University, Via Plinio 44, 00193 Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Petrosini
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, Italy; (E.L.); (S.S.); (F.G.); (L.P.); (D.C.)
| | - Debora Cutuli
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, Italy; (E.L.); (S.S.); (F.G.); (L.P.); (D.C.)
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Rome, Italy
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Gelfo F, Petrosini L. Environmental Enrichment Enhances Cerebellar Compensation and Develops Cerebellar Reserve. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022; 19:ijerph19095697. [PMID: 35565093 PMCID: PMC9099498 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19095697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2022] [Revised: 05/02/2022] [Accepted: 05/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
The brain is able to change its structure and function in response to environmental stimulations. Several human and animal studies have documented that enhanced stimulations provide individuals with strengthened brain structure and function that allow them to better cope with damage. In this framework, studies based on the exposure of animals to environmental enrichment (EE) have provided indications of the mechanisms involved in such a beneficial action. The cerebellum is a very plastic brain region that responds to every experience with deep structural and functional rearrangement. The present review specifically aims to collect and synthesize the evidence provided by animal models on EE exposure effects on cerebellar structure and function by considering the studies on healthy subjects and on animals exposed to EE both before and after damage involving cerebellar functionality. On the whole, the evidence supports the role of EE in enhancing cerebellar compensation and developing cerebellar reserve. However, since studies addressing this issue are still scarce, large areas of inconsistency and lack of clarity remain. Further studies are required to provide suggestions on possible mechanisms of enhancement of compensatory responses in human patients following cerebellar damage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Gelfo
- Department of Human Sciences, Guglielmo Marconi University, Via Plinio 44, 00193 Rome, Italy
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, Italy;
- Correspondence:
| | - Laura Petrosini
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, Italy;
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Termine A, Fabrizio C, Gimenez J, Panuccio A, Balsamo F, Passarello N, Caioli S, Saba L, De Bardi M, Della Valle F, Orlando V, Petrosini L, Laricchiuta D. Transcriptomic and Network Analyses Reveal Immune Modulation by Endocannabinoids in Approach/Avoidance Traits. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23052538. [PMID: 35269678 PMCID: PMC8910341 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23052538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2022] [Revised: 02/17/2022] [Accepted: 02/23/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Approach and avoidance (A/A) tendencies are stable behavioral traits in responding to rewarding and fearful stimuli. They represent the superordinate division of emotion, and individual differences in such traits are associated with disease susceptibility. The neural circuitry underlying A/A traits is retained to be the cortico-limbic pathway including the amygdala, the central hub for the emotional processing. Furthermore, A/A-specific individual differences are associated with the activity of the endocannabinoid system (ECS) and especially of CB1 receptors whose density and functionality in amygdala differ according to A/A traits. ECS markedly interacts with the immune system (IS). However, how the interplay between ECS and IS is associated with A/A individual differences is still ill-defined. To fill this gap, here we analyzed the interaction between the gene expression of ECS and immune system (IS) in relation to individual differences. To unveil the deep architecture of ECS-IS interaction, we performed cell-specific transcriptomics analysis. Differential gene expression profiling, functional enrichment, and protein–protein interaction network analyses were performed in amygdala pyramidal neurons of mice showing different A/A behavioral tendencies. Several altered pro-inflammatory pathways were identified as associated with individual differences in A/A traits, indicating the chronic activation of the adaptive immune response sustained by the interplay between endocannabinoids and the IS. Furthermore, results showed that the interaction between the two systems modulates synaptic plasticity and neuronal metabolism in individual difference-specific manner. Deepening our knowledge about ECS/IS interaction may provide useful targets for treatment and prevention of psychopathology associated with A/A traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Termine
- Data Science Unit, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy; (A.T.); (C.F.)
| | - Carlo Fabrizio
- Data Science Unit, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy; (A.T.); (C.F.)
| | - Juliette Gimenez
- Epigenetics and Genome Reprogramming Laboratory, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy;
| | - Anna Panuccio
- Experimental and Behavioral Neurophysiology Lab, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy; (A.P.); (F.B.); (N.P.); (L.P.)
- Department of Psychology, University Sapienza of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Francesca Balsamo
- Experimental and Behavioral Neurophysiology Lab, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy; (A.P.); (F.B.); (N.P.); (L.P.)
- Department of Human Sciences, Guglielmo Marconi University, 00193 Rome, Italy
| | - Noemi Passarello
- Experimental and Behavioral Neurophysiology Lab, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy; (A.P.); (F.B.); (N.P.); (L.P.)
- Department of Humanities, Federico II University of Naples, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Silvia Caioli
- Unit of Neurology, IRCCS Neuromed, 86077 Pozzilli, Italy;
| | - Luana Saba
- Department of Sciences and Technologies for Humans and Environment, University of Campus Biomedico, 00128 Rome, Italy;
| | - Marco De Bardi
- Neuroimmunology Unit, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy;
| | - Francesco Della Valle
- KAUST Environmental Epigenetics Program, Biological Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), 4700 KAUST, Thuwal 23955, Saudi Arabia; (F.D.V.); (V.O.)
| | - Valerio Orlando
- KAUST Environmental Epigenetics Program, Biological Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), 4700 KAUST, Thuwal 23955, Saudi Arabia; (F.D.V.); (V.O.)
| | - Laura Petrosini
- Experimental and Behavioral Neurophysiology Lab, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy; (A.P.); (F.B.); (N.P.); (L.P.)
| | - Daniela Laricchiuta
- Experimental and Behavioral Neurophysiology Lab, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy; (A.P.); (F.B.); (N.P.); (L.P.)
- Correspondence:
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Termine A, Fabrizio C, Strafella C, Caputo V, Petrosini L, Caltagirone C, Cascella R, Giardina E. A Hybrid Machine Learning and Network Analysis Approach Reveals Two Parkinson's Disease Subtypes from 115 RNA-Seq Post-Mortem Brain Samples. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23052557. [PMID: 35269707 PMCID: PMC8910747 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23052557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2022] [Revised: 02/16/2022] [Accepted: 02/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Precision medicine emphasizes fine-grained diagnostics, taking individual variability into account to enhance treatment effectiveness. Parkinson’s disease (PD) heterogeneity among individuals proves the existence of disease subtypes, so subgrouping patients is vital for better understanding disease mechanisms and designing precise treatment. The purpose of this study was to identify PD subtypes using RNA-Seq data in a combined pipeline including unsupervised machine learning, bioinformatics, and network analysis. Two hundred and ten post mortem brain RNA-Seq samples from PD (n = 115) and normal controls (NCs, n = 95) were obtained with systematic data retrieval following PRISMA statements and a fully data-driven clustering pipeline was performed to identify PD subtypes. Bioinformatics and network analyses were performed to characterize the disease mechanisms of the identified PD subtypes and to identify target genes for drug repurposing. Two PD clusters were identified and 42 DEGs were found (p adjusted ≤ 0.01). PD clusters had significantly different gene network structures (p < 0.0001) and phenotype-specific disease mechanisms, highlighting the differential involvement of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway regulating adult neurogenesis. NEUROD1 was identified as a key regulator of gene networks and ISX9 and PD98059 were identified as NEUROD1-interacting compounds with disease-modifying potential, reducing the effects of dopaminergic neurodegeneration. This hybrid data analysis approach could enable precision medicine applications by providing insights for the identification and characterization of pathological subtypes. This workflow has proven useful on PD brain RNA-Seq, but its application to other neurodegenerative diseases is encouraged.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Termine
- Data Science Unit, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation c/o CERC, 00143 Rome, Italy; (A.T.); (C.F.)
| | - Carlo Fabrizio
- Data Science Unit, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation c/o CERC, 00143 Rome, Italy; (A.T.); (C.F.)
| | - Claudia Strafella
- Genomic Medicine Laboratory UILDM, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, 00179 Rome, Italy; (C.S.); (V.C.)
| | - Valerio Caputo
- Genomic Medicine Laboratory UILDM, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, 00179 Rome, Italy; (C.S.); (V.C.)
- Medical Genetics Laboratory, Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Tor Vergata University, 00133 Rome, Italy;
| | - Laura Petrosini
- Experimental and Behavioral Neurophysiology, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation c/o CERC, 00143 Rome, Italy;
| | - Carlo Caltagirone
- Department of Clinical and Behavioral Neurology, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, 00179 Rome, Italy;
| | - Raffaella Cascella
- Medical Genetics Laboratory, Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Tor Vergata University, 00133 Rome, Italy;
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Catholic University Our Lady of Good Counsel, 1000 Tirana, Albania
| | - Emiliano Giardina
- Genomic Medicine Laboratory UILDM, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, 00179 Rome, Italy; (C.S.); (V.C.)
- UILDM Lazio ONLUS Foundation, Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Tor Vergata University, 00133 Rome, Italy
- Correspondence:
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Cutuli D, Landolfo E, Petrosini L, Gelfo F. Environmental Enrichment Effects on the Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Expression in Healthy Condition, Alzheimer's Disease, and Other Neurodegenerative Disorders. J Alzheimers Dis 2021; 85:975-992. [PMID: 34897089 DOI: 10.3233/jad-215193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein belonging to the neurotrophin family, is known to be heavily involved in synaptic plasticity processes that support brain development, post-lesion regeneration, and cognitive performances, such as learning and memory. Evidence indicates that BDNF expression can be epigenetically regulated by environmental stimuli and thus can mediate the experience-dependent brain plasticity. Environmental enrichment (EE), an experimental paradigm based on the exposure to complex stimulations, constitutes an efficient means to investigate the effects of high-level experience on behavior, cognitive processes, and neurobiological correlates, as the BDNF expression. In fact, BDNF exerts a key role in mediating and promoting EE-induced plastic changes and functional improvements in healthy and pathological conditions. This review is specifically aimed at providing an updated framework of the available evidence on the EE effects on brain and serum BDNF levels, by taking into account both changes in protein expression and regulation of gene expression. A further purpose of the present review is analyzing the potential of BDNF regulation in coping with neurodegenerative processes characterizing Alzheimer's disease (AD), given BDNF expression alterations are described in AD patients. Moreover, attention is also paid to EE effects on BDNF expression in other neurodegenerative disease. To investigate such a topic, evidence provided by experimental studies is considered. A deeper understanding of environmental ability in modulating BDNF expression in the brain may be fundamental in designing more tuned and effective applications of complex environmental stimulations as managing approaches to AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Debora Cutuli
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.,Department of Psychology, University Sapienza of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Eugenia Landolfo
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.,Department of Psychology, University Sapienza of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Francesca Gelfo
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.,Department of Human Sciences, Guglielmo Marconi University, Rome, Italy
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23
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Serra L, Raimondi S, di Domenico C, Maffei S, Lardone A, Liparoti M, Sorrentino P, Caltagirone C, Petrosini L, Mandolesi L. The beneficial effects of physical exercise on visuospatial working memory in preadolescent children. AIMS Neurosci 2021; 8:496-509. [PMID: 34877401 PMCID: PMC8611191 DOI: 10.3934/neuroscience.2021026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2021] [Accepted: 08/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The relationship between physical exercise and improvement in specific cognitive domains in children and adolescents who play sport has been recently reported, although the effects on visuospatial abilities have not yet been well explored. This study is aimed at evaluating in school-age children practicing artistic gymnastics the visuospatial memory by using a table version of the Radial Arm Maze (table-RAM) and comparing their performances with those ones who do not play any sport. The visuospatial performances of 14 preadolescent girls practicing artistic gymnastics aged between 7 and 10 years and those of 14 preadolescent girls not playing any sport were evaluated in the table-RAM forced-choice paradigm that allows disentangling short-term memory from working memory abilities. Data showed that the gymnasts obtained better performances than control group mainly in the parameters evaluating working memory abilities, such as within-phase errors and spatial span. Our findings emphasizing the role of physical activity on cognitive performances impel to promote physical exercise in educational and recreational contexts as well as to analyse the impact of other sports besides gymnastics on cognitive functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Serra
- Neuroimaging Laboratory, Fondazione Santa Lucia, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Sara Raimondi
- Neuroimaging Laboratory, Fondazione Santa Lucia, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Silvia Maffei
- Neuroimaging Laboratory, Fondazione Santa Lucia, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Anna Lardone
- Department of Motor Sciences and Wellness, University "Parthenope", Naples, Italy
| | - Marianna Liparoti
- Department of Motor Sciences and Wellness, University "Parthenope", Naples, Italy
| | - Pierpaolo Sorrentino
- Institute de Neurosciences Des Systèmes, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France Department of Engineering, University "Parthenope", Naples, Italy
| | - Carlo Caltagirone
- Department of Clinical and Behavioural Neurology, Fondazione Santa Lucia, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Petrosini
- Laboratory of Experimental and Behavioural Neurophysiology, Fondazione Santa Lucia, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- Department of Humanities, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
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24
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Picerni E, Laricchiuta D, Piras F, Vecchio D, Petrosini L, Cutuli D, Spalletta G. Macro- and micro-structural cerebellar and cortical characteristics of cognitive empathy towards fictional characters in healthy individuals. J Neurol Sci 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jns.2021.118298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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25
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Serra L, Giancaterino G, Giulietti G, Bruschini M, Bassi A, Marra C, Caltagirone C, Petrosini L, Bozzali M. Interaction between cognitive reserve and brain complexity to mitigate the impact of atrophy in early Alzheimer’s disease. J Neurol Sci 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jns.2021.117829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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26
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Gelfo
- Department of Human Sciences, Guglielmo Marconi University; IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
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Riyahi J, Abdoli B, Gelfo F, Petrosini L, Rezaei R, Haghparast A. Maternal spatial training before fertilization improves the spatial learning process in female offspring. Neuroreport 2021; 32:1106-1112. [PMID: 34284449 DOI: 10.1097/wnr.0000000000001699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Recent results of our team showed that parental spatial training before fertilization improves the offspring's spatial memory. However, the process of spatial learning (short-term/working and long-term memories, mnesic consolidation and procedures) in the offspring has not been fully clarified yet. Therefore, this study aimed at specifically analyzing whether maternal learning of a spatial task before fertilization can impact on the process of spatial learning in the female offspring. In the present study, 8-week-old female Wistar rats that had been spatially trained (or not) in the Morris Water Maze (MWM) were mated with conspecific standard-reared male rats, and their 4-week-old female offspring were spatially tested in the same MWM to evaluate their learning and memory processes. Results showed that the female offspring of trained mothers significantly displayed lower escape latencies, higher swimming speed, shorter total distance swum, longer percentage of time spent in the target quadrant and better localization memory in comparison to the female offspring of not trained mothers. Further, MWM performances of mothers trained and their female offspring significantly correlated. These findings indicate that the maternal spatial training before fertilization improves the spatial learning and memory consolidation process of the female offspring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javad Riyahi
- Department of Cognitive and Behavioral Science and Technology in Sport, Faculty of Sport Sciences and Health, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Behrouz Abdoli
- Department of Cognitive and Behavioral Science and Technology in Sport, Faculty of Sport Sciences and Health, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Francesca Gelfo
- Department of Experimental Neurosciences, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation
- Department of Human Sciences, Guglielmo Marconi University, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Petrosini
- Department of Experimental Neurosciences, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation
| | - Rasoul Rezaei
- Department of Sport Sciences, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Abbas Haghparast
- Neuroscience Research Center, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical sciences, Tehran, Iran
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28
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Zampatti S, Fabrizio C, Ragazzo M, Campoli G, Caputo V, Strafella C, Pellicano C, Cascella R, Spalletta G, Petrosini L, Caltagirone C, Termine A, Giardina E. Precision Medicine into Clinical Practice: A Web-Based Tool Enables Real-Time Pharmacogenetic Assessment of Tailored Treatments in Psychiatric Disorders. J Pers Med 2021; 11:jpm11090851. [PMID: 34575628 PMCID: PMC8471120 DOI: 10.3390/jpm11090851] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2021] [Revised: 08/24/2021] [Accepted: 08/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The management of neuropsychiatric disorders involves different pharmacological treatments. In order to perform efficacious drug treatments, the metabolism of CYP genes can help to foresee potential drug–drug interactions. The NeuroPGx software is an open-source web-based tool for genotype/diplotype/phenotype interpretation for neuropharmacogenomic purposes. The software provides information about: (i) the genotypes of evaluated SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms); (ii) the main diplotypes in CYP genes and corresponding metabolization phenotypes; (iii) the list of neuropsychiatric drugs with recommended dosage adjustment (according to CPIC and DPWG guidelines); (iv) the list of possible (rare) diplotypes and corresponding metabolization phenotypes. The combined application of NeuroPGx software to the OpenArray technology results in an easy, quick, and highly automated device ready to be used in routine clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefania Zampatti
- Genomic Medicine Laboratory UILDM, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy; (S.Z.); (C.F.); (G.C.); (C.S.); (R.C.); (A.T.)
| | - Carlo Fabrizio
- Genomic Medicine Laboratory UILDM, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy; (S.Z.); (C.F.); (G.C.); (C.S.); (R.C.); (A.T.)
| | - Michele Ragazzo
- Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Tor Vergata University of Rome, 00133 Rome, Italy; (M.R.); (V.C.)
| | - Giulia Campoli
- Genomic Medicine Laboratory UILDM, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy; (S.Z.); (C.F.); (G.C.); (C.S.); (R.C.); (A.T.)
| | - Valerio Caputo
- Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Tor Vergata University of Rome, 00133 Rome, Italy; (M.R.); (V.C.)
| | - Claudia Strafella
- Genomic Medicine Laboratory UILDM, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy; (S.Z.); (C.F.); (G.C.); (C.S.); (R.C.); (A.T.)
| | - Clelia Pellicano
- Laboratory of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Clinical and Behavioral Neurology, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, 00179 Rome, Italy; (C.P.); (G.S.)
| | - Raffaella Cascella
- Genomic Medicine Laboratory UILDM, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy; (S.Z.); (C.F.); (G.C.); (C.S.); (R.C.); (A.T.)
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Catholic University Our Lady of Good Counsel, 1000 Tirana, Albania
| | - Gianfranco Spalletta
- Laboratory of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Clinical and Behavioral Neurology, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, 00179 Rome, Italy; (C.P.); (G.S.)
| | - Laura Petrosini
- Department of Experimental Neuroscience, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy;
| | - Carlo Caltagirone
- Department of Clinical and Behavioral Neurology, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy;
| | - Andrea Termine
- Genomic Medicine Laboratory UILDM, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy; (S.Z.); (C.F.); (G.C.); (C.S.); (R.C.); (A.T.)
| | - Emiliano Giardina
- Genomic Medicine Laboratory UILDM, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy; (S.Z.); (C.F.); (G.C.); (C.S.); (R.C.); (A.T.)
- Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Tor Vergata University of Rome, 00133 Rome, Italy; (M.R.); (V.C.)
- Correspondence:
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29
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Termine A, Fabrizio C, Strafella C, Caputo V, Petrosini L, Caltagirone C, Giardina E, Cascella R. Multi-Layer Picture of Neurodegenerative Diseases: Lessons from the Use of Big Data through Artificial Intelligence. J Pers Med 2021; 11:280. [PMID: 33917161 PMCID: PMC8067806 DOI: 10.3390/jpm11040280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2021] [Revised: 04/05/2021] [Accepted: 04/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In the big data era, artificial intelligence techniques have been applied to tackle traditional issues in the study of neurodegenerative diseases. Despite the progress made in understanding the complex (epi)genetics signatures underlying neurodegenerative disorders, performing early diagnosis and developing drug repurposing strategies remain serious challenges for such conditions. In this context, the integration of multi-omics, neuroimaging, and electronic health records data can be exploited using deep learning methods to provide the most accurate representation of patients possible. Deep learning allows researchers to find multi-modal biomarkers to develop more effective and personalized treatments, early diagnosis tools, as well as useful information for drug discovering and repurposing in neurodegenerative pathologies. In this review, we will describe how relevant studies have been able to demonstrate the potential of deep learning to enhance the knowledge of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases through the integration of all sources of biomedical data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Termine
- IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Genomic Medicine Laboratory UILDM, 00179 Rome, Italy; (A.T.); (C.S.); (V.C.); (R.C.)
| | - Carlo Fabrizio
- IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Laboratory of Experimental and Behavioral Neurophysiology, 00143 Rome, Italy; (C.F.); (L.P.)
| | - Claudia Strafella
- IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Genomic Medicine Laboratory UILDM, 00179 Rome, Italy; (A.T.); (C.S.); (V.C.); (R.C.)
- Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Tor Vergata University of Rome, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Valerio Caputo
- IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Genomic Medicine Laboratory UILDM, 00179 Rome, Italy; (A.T.); (C.S.); (V.C.); (R.C.)
- Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Tor Vergata University of Rome, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Petrosini
- IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Laboratory of Experimental and Behavioral Neurophysiology, 00143 Rome, Italy; (C.F.); (L.P.)
| | - Carlo Caltagirone
- IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Department of Clinical and Behavioral Neurology, 00179 Rome, Italy;
| | - Emiliano Giardina
- IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Genomic Medicine Laboratory UILDM, 00179 Rome, Italy; (A.T.); (C.S.); (V.C.); (R.C.)
- UILDM Lazio ONLUS Foundation, Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Tor Vergata University, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Raffaella Cascella
- IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Genomic Medicine Laboratory UILDM, 00179 Rome, Italy; (A.T.); (C.S.); (V.C.); (R.C.)
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Catholic University Our Lady of Good Counsel, 1000 Tirana, Albania
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30
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La Barbera L, Vedele F, Nobili A, Krashia P, Spoleti E, Latagliata EC, Cutuli D, Cauzzi E, Marino R, Viscomi MT, Petrosini L, Puglisi-Allegra S, Melone M, Keller F, Mercuri NB, Conti F, D'Amelio M. Nilotinib restores memory function by preventing dopaminergic neuron degeneration in a mouse model of Alzheimer's Disease. Prog Neurobiol 2021; 202:102031. [PMID: 33684513 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2021.102031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2020] [Revised: 02/15/2021] [Accepted: 02/28/2021] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
What happens precociously to the brain destined to develop Alzheimer's Disease (AD) still remains to be elucidated and this is one reason why effective AD treatments are missing. Recent experimental and clinical studies indicate that the degeneration of the dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA) could be one of the first events occurring in AD. However, the causes of the increased vulnerability of DA neurons in AD are missing. Here, we deeply investigate the physiology of DA neurons in the VTA before, at the onset, and after onset of VTA neurodegeneration. We use the Tg2576 mouse model of AD, overexpressing a mutated form of the human APP, to identify molecular targets that can be manipulated pharmacologically. We show that in Tg2576 mice, DA neurons of the VTA at the onset of degeneration undergo slight but functionally relevant changes in their electrophysiological properties and cell morphology. Importantly, these changes are associated with accumulation of autophagosomes, suggestive of a dysfunctional autophagy, and with enhanced activation of c-Abl, a tyrosine kinase previously implicated in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. Chronic treatment of Tg2576 mice with Nilotinib, a validated c-Abl inhibitor, reduces c-Abl phosphorylation, improves autophagy, reduces Aβ levels and - more importantly - prevents degeneration as well as functional and morphological alterations in DA neurons of the VTA. Interestingly, the drug prevents the reduction of DA outflow to the hippocampus and ameliorates hippocampal-related cognitive functions. Our results strive to identify early pathological brain changes in AD, to provide a rational basis for new therapeutic interventions able to slow down the disease progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Livia La Barbera
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Department of Sciences and Technologies for Humans and Environment, University Campus Bio-Medico, 00128, Rome, Italy; Department of Experimental Neurosciences, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, 00143, Rome, Italy
| | - Francescangelo Vedele
- Department of Experimental Neurosciences, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, 00143, Rome, Italy; Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133, Rome, Italy
| | - Annalisa Nobili
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Department of Sciences and Technologies for Humans and Environment, University Campus Bio-Medico, 00128, Rome, Italy; Department of Experimental Neurosciences, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, 00143, Rome, Italy
| | - Paraskevi Krashia
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Department of Sciences and Technologies for Humans and Environment, University Campus Bio-Medico, 00128, Rome, Italy; Department of Experimental Neurosciences, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, 00143, Rome, Italy.
| | - Elena Spoleti
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Department of Sciences and Technologies for Humans and Environment, University Campus Bio-Medico, 00128, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Debora Cutuli
- Department of Experimental Neurosciences, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, 00143, Rome, Italy; Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Emma Cauzzi
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Department of Sciences and Technologies for Humans and Environment, University Campus Bio-Medico, 00128, Rome, Italy; School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, Monza, Italy
| | - Ramona Marino
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Department of Sciences and Technologies for Humans and Environment, University Campus Bio-Medico, 00128, Rome, Italy
| | - Maria Teresa Viscomi
- Department of Experimental Neurosciences, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, 00143, Rome, Italy; Department of Life Science and Public Health Section of Histology and Embryology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Petrosini
- Department of Experimental Neurosciences, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, 00143, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Marcello Melone
- Section of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Università Politecnica delle Marche (UNIVPM), 60020, Ancona, Italy; Center for Neurobiology of Aging, IRCCS Istituto Nazionale Ricovero e Cura Anziani (INRCA), 60020, Ancona, Italy
| | - Flavio Keller
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Department of Sciences and Technologies for Humans and Environment, University Campus Bio-Medico, 00128, Rome, Italy
| | - Nicola Biagio Mercuri
- Department of Experimental Neurosciences, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, 00143, Rome, Italy; Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133, Rome, Italy
| | - Fiorenzo Conti
- Section of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Università Politecnica delle Marche (UNIVPM), 60020, Ancona, Italy; Center for Neurobiology of Aging, IRCCS Istituto Nazionale Ricovero e Cura Anziani (INRCA), 60020, Ancona, Italy; Foundation for Molecular Medicine, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60020, Ancona, Italy
| | - Marcello D'Amelio
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Department of Sciences and Technologies for Humans and Environment, University Campus Bio-Medico, 00128, Rome, Italy; Department of Experimental Neurosciences, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, 00143, Rome, Italy.
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31
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Campanelli F, Laricchiuta D, Natale G, Marino G, Calabrese V, Picconi B, Petrosini L, Calabresi P, Ghiglieri V. Long-Term Shaping of Corticostriatal Synaptic Activity by Acute Fasting. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22041916. [PMID: 33671915 PMCID: PMC7918979 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22041916] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2021] [Revised: 02/10/2021] [Accepted: 02/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Food restriction is a robust nongenic, nonsurgical and nonpharmacologic intervention known to improve health and extend lifespan in various species. Food is considered the most essential and frequently consumed natural reward, and current observations have demonstrated homeostatic responses and neuroadaptations to sustained intermittent or chronic deprivation. Results obtained to date indicate that food deprivation affects glutamatergic synapses, favoring the insertion of GluA2-lacking α-Ammino-3-idrossi-5-Metil-4-idrossazol-Propionic Acid receptors (AMPARs) in postsynaptic membranes. Despite an increasing number of studies pointing towards specific changes in response to dietary restrictions in brain regions, such as the nucleus accumbens and hippocampus, none have investigated the long-term effects of such practice in the dorsal striatum. This basal ganglia nucleus is involved in habit formation and in eating behavior, especially that based on dopaminergic control of motivation for food in both humans and animals. Here, we explored whether we could retrieve long-term signs of changes in AMPARs subunit composition in dorsal striatal neurons of mice acutely deprived for 12 hours/day for two consecutive days by analyzing glutamatergic neurotransmission and the principal forms of dopamine and glutamate-dependent synaptic plasticity. Overall, our data show that a moderate food deprivation in experimental animals is a salient event mirrored by a series of neuroadaptations and suggest that dietary restriction may be determinant in shaping striatal synaptic plasticity in the physiological state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federica Campanelli
- Dipartmento di Medicina, Università di Perugia, 06129 Perugia, Italy; (F.C.); (G.N.); (G.M.); (V.C.)
- Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Facoltà di Medicina e Chirurgia, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy;
| | - Daniela Laricchiuta
- Laboratorio di Neurofisiologia Sperimentale e del Comportamento, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia c/o CERC, 00143 Rome, Italy; (D.L.); (L.P.)
| | - Giuseppina Natale
- Dipartmento di Medicina, Università di Perugia, 06129 Perugia, Italy; (F.C.); (G.N.); (G.M.); (V.C.)
- Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Facoltà di Medicina e Chirurgia, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy;
| | - Gioia Marino
- Dipartmento di Medicina, Università di Perugia, 06129 Perugia, Italy; (F.C.); (G.N.); (G.M.); (V.C.)
- Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Facoltà di Medicina e Chirurgia, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy;
| | - Valeria Calabrese
- Dipartmento di Medicina, Università di Perugia, 06129 Perugia, Italy; (F.C.); (G.N.); (G.M.); (V.C.)
- IRCCS San Raffaele Pisana, Rome 00176, Italy;
| | - Barbara Picconi
- IRCCS San Raffaele Pisana, Rome 00176, Italy;
- Università Telematica San Raffaele, 00166 Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Petrosini
- Laboratorio di Neurofisiologia Sperimentale e del Comportamento, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia c/o CERC, 00143 Rome, Italy; (D.L.); (L.P.)
| | - Paolo Calabresi
- Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Facoltà di Medicina e Chirurgia, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy;
- Clinica Neurologica, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, 00168 Rome, Italy
| | - Veronica Ghiglieri
- Laboratorio di Neurofisiologia Sperimentale e del Comportamento, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia c/o CERC, 00143 Rome, Italy; (D.L.); (L.P.)
- Università Telematica San Raffaele, 00166 Rome, Italy
- Correspondence:
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32
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Laricchiuta D, Sciamanna G, Gimenez J, Termine A, Fabrizio C, Caioli S, Balsamo F, Panuccio A, De Bardi M, Saba L, Passarello N, Cutuli D, Mattioni A, Zona C, Orlando V, Petrosini L. Optogenetic Stimulation of Prelimbic Pyramidal Neurons Maintains Fear Memories and Modulates Amygdala Pyramidal Neuron Transcriptome. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22020810. [PMID: 33467450 PMCID: PMC7830910 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22020810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2020] [Revised: 01/12/2021] [Accepted: 01/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Fear extinction requires coordinated neural activity within the amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Any behavior has a transcriptomic signature that is modified by environmental experiences, and specific genes are involved in functional plasticity and synaptic wiring during fear extinction. Here, we investigated the effects of optogenetic manipulations of prelimbic (PrL) pyramidal neurons and amygdala gene expression to analyze the specific transcriptional pathways associated to adaptive and maladaptive fear extinction. To this aim, transgenic mice were (or not) fear-conditioned and during the extinction phase they received optogenetic (or sham) stimulations over photo-activable PrL pyramidal neurons. At the end of behavioral testing, electrophysiological (neural cellular excitability and Excitatory Post-Synaptic Currents) and morphological (spinogenesis) correlates were evaluated in the PrL pyramidal neurons. Furthermore, transcriptomic cell-specific RNA-analyses (differential gene expression profiling and functional enrichment analyses) were performed in amygdala pyramidal neurons. Our results show that the optogenetic activation of PrL pyramidal neurons in fear-conditioned mice induces fear extinction deficits, reflected in an increase of cellular excitability, excitatory neurotransmission, and spinogenesis of PrL pyramidal neurons, and associated to strong modifications of the transcriptome of amygdala pyramidal neurons. Understanding the electrophysiological, morphological, and transcriptomic architecture of fear extinction may facilitate the comprehension of fear-related disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Laricchiuta
- Department of Experimental Neuroscience, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy; (G.S.); (J.G.); (A.T.); (C.F.); (F.B.); (A.P.); (M.D.B.); (L.S.); (N.P.); (D.C.); (A.M.); (V.O.); (L.P.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Giuseppe Sciamanna
- Department of Experimental Neuroscience, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy; (G.S.); (J.G.); (A.T.); (C.F.); (F.B.); (A.P.); (M.D.B.); (L.S.); (N.P.); (D.C.); (A.M.); (V.O.); (L.P.)
| | - Juliette Gimenez
- Department of Experimental Neuroscience, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy; (G.S.); (J.G.); (A.T.); (C.F.); (F.B.); (A.P.); (M.D.B.); (L.S.); (N.P.); (D.C.); (A.M.); (V.O.); (L.P.)
| | - Andrea Termine
- Department of Experimental Neuroscience, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy; (G.S.); (J.G.); (A.T.); (C.F.); (F.B.); (A.P.); (M.D.B.); (L.S.); (N.P.); (D.C.); (A.M.); (V.O.); (L.P.)
- Department of Systems Medicine, Tor Vergata University of Rome, 00133 Rome, Italy;
| | - Carlo Fabrizio
- Department of Experimental Neuroscience, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy; (G.S.); (J.G.); (A.T.); (C.F.); (F.B.); (A.P.); (M.D.B.); (L.S.); (N.P.); (D.C.); (A.M.); (V.O.); (L.P.)
- Department of Systems Medicine, Tor Vergata University of Rome, 00133 Rome, Italy;
| | - Silvia Caioli
- Unit of Neurology, IRCCS Neuromed, 86077 Pozzilli, Italy;
| | - Francesca Balsamo
- Department of Experimental Neuroscience, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy; (G.S.); (J.G.); (A.T.); (C.F.); (F.B.); (A.P.); (M.D.B.); (L.S.); (N.P.); (D.C.); (A.M.); (V.O.); (L.P.)
| | - Anna Panuccio
- Department of Experimental Neuroscience, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy; (G.S.); (J.G.); (A.T.); (C.F.); (F.B.); (A.P.); (M.D.B.); (L.S.); (N.P.); (D.C.); (A.M.); (V.O.); (L.P.)
- Department of Psychology, University “Sapienza” of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Marco De Bardi
- Department of Experimental Neuroscience, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy; (G.S.); (J.G.); (A.T.); (C.F.); (F.B.); (A.P.); (M.D.B.); (L.S.); (N.P.); (D.C.); (A.M.); (V.O.); (L.P.)
| | - Luana Saba
- Department of Experimental Neuroscience, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy; (G.S.); (J.G.); (A.T.); (C.F.); (F.B.); (A.P.); (M.D.B.); (L.S.); (N.P.); (D.C.); (A.M.); (V.O.); (L.P.)
| | - Noemi Passarello
- Department of Experimental Neuroscience, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy; (G.S.); (J.G.); (A.T.); (C.F.); (F.B.); (A.P.); (M.D.B.); (L.S.); (N.P.); (D.C.); (A.M.); (V.O.); (L.P.)
| | - Debora Cutuli
- Department of Experimental Neuroscience, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy; (G.S.); (J.G.); (A.T.); (C.F.); (F.B.); (A.P.); (M.D.B.); (L.S.); (N.P.); (D.C.); (A.M.); (V.O.); (L.P.)
- Department of Psychology, University “Sapienza” of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Anna Mattioni
- Department of Experimental Neuroscience, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy; (G.S.); (J.G.); (A.T.); (C.F.); (F.B.); (A.P.); (M.D.B.); (L.S.); (N.P.); (D.C.); (A.M.); (V.O.); (L.P.)
| | - Cristina Zona
- Department of Systems Medicine, Tor Vergata University of Rome, 00133 Rome, Italy;
| | - Valerio Orlando
- Department of Experimental Neuroscience, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy; (G.S.); (J.G.); (A.T.); (C.F.); (F.B.); (A.P.); (M.D.B.); (L.S.); (N.P.); (D.C.); (A.M.); (V.O.); (L.P.)
- Biological Environmental Science and Engineering Division, KAUST Environmental Epigenetics Program, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Laura Petrosini
- Department of Experimental Neuroscience, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy; (G.S.); (J.G.); (A.T.); (C.F.); (F.B.); (A.P.); (M.D.B.); (L.S.); (N.P.); (D.C.); (A.M.); (V.O.); (L.P.)
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Cutuli D, Landolfo E, Nobili A, De Bartolo P, Sacchetti S, Chirico D, Marini F, Pieroni L, Ronci M, D'Amelio M, D'Amato FR, Farioli-Vecchioli S, Petrosini L. Behavioral, neuromorphological, and neurobiochemical effects induced by omega-3 fatty acids following basal forebrain cholinergic depletion in aged mice. Alzheimers Res Ther 2020; 12:150. [PMID: 33198763 PMCID: PMC7667851 DOI: 10.1186/s13195-020-00705-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 10/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Background In recent years, mechanistic, epidemiologic, and interventional studies have indicated beneficial effects of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) against brain aging and age-related cognitive decline, with the most consistent effects against Alzheimer’s disease (AD) confined especially in the early or prodromal stages of the pathology. In the present study, we investigated the action of n-3 PUFA supplementation on behavioral performances and hippocampal neurogenesis, volume, and astrogliosis in aged mice subjected to a selective depletion of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons. Such a lesion represents a valuable model to mimic one of the most reliable hallmarks of early AD neuropathology. Methods Aged mice first underwent mu-p75-saporin immunotoxin intraventricular lesions to obtain a massive cholinergic depletion and then were orally supplemented with n-3 PUFA or olive oil (as isocaloric control) for 8 weeks. Four weeks after the beginning of the dietary supplementation, anxiety levels as well as mnesic, social, and depressive-like behaviors were evaluated. Subsequently, hippocampal morphological and biochemical analyses and n-3 PUFA brain quantification were carried out. Results The n-3 PUFA treatment regulated the anxiety alterations and reverted the novelty recognition memory impairment induced by the cholinergic depletion in aged mice. Moreover, n-3 PUFA preserved hippocampal volume, enhanced neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus, and reduced astrogliosis in the hippocampus. Brain levels of n-3 PUFA were positively related to mnesic abilities. Conclusions The demonstration that n-3 PUFA are able to counteract behavioral deficits and hippocampal neurodegeneration in cholinergically depleted aged mice promotes their use as a low-cost, safe nutraceutical tool to improve life quality at old age, even in the presence of first stages of AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Debora Cutuli
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy. .,University of Rome "Sapienza", Rome, Italy.
| | - Eugenia Landolfo
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.,University of Rome "Sapienza", Rome, Italy
| | - Annalisa Nobili
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.,University "Campus Bio-Medico", Rome, Italy
| | - Paola De Bartolo
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.,Department of Human Sciences, Guglielmo Marconi University, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Doriana Chirico
- Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, CNR, Monterotondo, Italy
| | - Federica Marini
- Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Maurizio Ronci
- Department of Pharmacy, University G. D'Annunzio of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Marcello D'Amelio
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.,University "Campus Bio-Medico", Rome, Italy
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34
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Foti F, Sorrentino P, Menghini D, Montuori S, Pesoli M, Turriziani P, Vicari S, Petrosini L, Mandolesi L. Peripersonal Visuospatial Abilities in Williams Syndrome Analyzed by a Table Radial Arm Maze Task. Front Hum Neurosci 2020; 14:254. [PMID: 32848661 PMCID: PMC7396499 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.00254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2020] [Accepted: 06/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Williams syndrome (WS) is a genetic deletion syndrome characterized by severe visuospatial deficits affecting spatial exploration and navigation abilities in extra-personal space.To date, little is known about spatial elaboration and reaching abilities in the peripersonal space in individuals with WS. The present study is aimed at evaluating the visuospatial abilities in individuals with WS and comparing their performances with those of mental age-matched typically developing (TD) children by using a highly sensitive ecological version of the Radial Arm Maze (table RAM). We evaluated 15 individuals with WS and 15 TD children in two different table RAM paradigms: the free-choice paradigm, mainly to analyze the aspects linked to procedural and memory components, and the forced-choice paradigm, to disentangle the components linked to spatial working memory from the procedural ones.Data show that individuals with WS made significantly more working memory errors as compared with TD children, thus evidencing a marked deficit in resolving the task when the mnesic load increased. Our findings provide new insights on the cognitive profile of WS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Foti
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy
| | | | - Deny Menghini
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, "Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù", Rome, Italy
| | - Simone Montuori
- Department of Movement Sciences and Wellbeing, Parthenope University of Naples, Naples, Italy
| | - Matteo Pesoli
- Department of Movement Sciences and Wellbeing, Parthenope University of Naples, Naples, Italy
| | - Patrizia Turriziani
- Department of Psychology, Educational Sciences and Human Movement, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Stefano Vicari
- Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Neuroscience, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital (IRCCS), Rome, Italy.,Department of Life Sciences and Public Health, Catholic University, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Petrosini
- Laboratory of Experimental and Behavioural Neurophysiology, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- Department of Humanistic Studies, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
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35
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Serra L, Scocchia M, Meola G, D'Amelio M, Bruschini M, Silvestri G, Petrucci A, Di Domenico C, Caltagirone C, Koch G, Cercignani M, Petrosini L, Bozzali M. Ventral tegmental area dysfunction affects decision-making in patients with myotonic dystrophy type-1. Cortex 2020; 128:192-202. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.03.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2019] [Revised: 12/16/2019] [Accepted: 03/05/2020] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
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36
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Mitoma H, Buffo A, Gelfo F, Guell X, Fucà E, Kakei S, Lee J, Manto M, Petrosini L, Shaikh AG, Schmahmann JD. Consensus Paper. Cerebellar Reserve: From Cerebellar Physiology to Cerebellar Disorders. Cerebellum 2020; 19:131-153. [PMID: 31879843 PMCID: PMC6978437 DOI: 10.1007/s12311-019-01091-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Cerebellar reserve refers to the capacity of the cerebellum to compensate for tissue damage or loss of function resulting from many different etiologies. When the inciting event produces acute focal damage (e.g., stroke, trauma), impaired cerebellar function may be compensated for by other cerebellar areas or by extracerebellar structures (i.e., structural cerebellar reserve). In contrast, when pathological changes compromise cerebellar neuronal integrity gradually leading to cell death (e.g., metabolic and immune-mediated cerebellar ataxias, neurodegenerative ataxias), it is possible that the affected area itself can compensate for the slowly evolving cerebellar lesion (i.e., functional cerebellar reserve). Here, we examine cerebellar reserve from the perspective of the three cornerstones of clinical ataxiology: control of ocular movements, coordination of voluntary axial and appendicular movements, and cognitive functions. Current evidence indicates that cerebellar reserve is potentiated by environmental enrichment through the mechanisms of autophagy and synaptogenesis, suggesting that cerebellar reserve is not rigid or fixed, but exhibits plasticity potentiated by experience. These conclusions have therapeutic implications. During the period when cerebellar reserve is preserved, treatments should be directed at stopping disease progression and/or limiting the pathological process. Simultaneously, cerebellar reserve may be potentiated using multiple approaches. Potentiation of cerebellar reserve may lead to compensation and restoration of function in the setting of cerebellar diseases, and also in disorders primarily of the cerebral hemispheres by enhancing cerebellar mechanisms of action. It therefore appears that cerebellar reserve, and the underlying plasticity of cerebellar microcircuitry that enables it, may be of critical neurobiological importance to a wide range of neurological/neuropsychiatric conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- H Mitoma
- Medical Education Promotion Center, Tokyo Medical University, Tokyo, Japan.
| | - A Buffo
- Department of Neuroscience Rita Levi-Montalcini, University of Turin, 10126, Turin, Italy
- Neuroscience Institute Cavalieri Ottolenghi, 10043, Orbassano, Italy
| | - F Gelfo
- Department of Human Sciences, Guglielmo Marconi University, 00193, Rome, Italy
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179, Rome, Italy
| | - X Guell
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Ataxia Unit, Cognitive Behavioral Neurology Unit, Laboratory for Neuroanatomy and Cerebellar Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA
| | - E Fucà
- Department of Neuroscience Rita Levi-Montalcini, University of Turin, 10126, Turin, Italy
- Neuroscience Institute Cavalieri Ottolenghi, 10043, Orbassano, Italy
- Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, 00165, Rome, Italy
| | - S Kakei
- Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, Tokyo, Japan
| | - J Lee
- Komatsu University, Komatsu, Japan
| | - M Manto
- Unité des Ataxies Cérébelleuses, Service de Neurologie, CHU-Charleroi, 6000, Charleroi, Belgium
- Service des Neurosciences, University of Mons, 7000, Mons, Belgium
| | - L Petrosini
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179, Rome, Italy
| | - A G Shaikh
- Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - J D Schmahmann
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Ataxia Unit, Cognitive Behavioral Neurology Unit, Laboratory for Neuroanatomy and Cerebellar Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
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Serra L, Petrosini L, Salaris A, Pica L, Bruschini M, Di Domenico C, Caltagirone C, Marra C, Bozzali M. Testing for the Myth of Cognitive Reserve: Are the Static and Dynamic Cognitive Reserve Indexes a Representation of Different Reserve Warehouses? J Alzheimers Dis 2019; 72:111-126. [DOI: 10.3233/jad-190716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Laura Serra
- Neuroimaging Laboratory, Santa Lucia Foundation, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Petrosini
- Laboratory of Experimental and Behavioural Neurophysiology, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Andrea Salaris
- Neuroimaging Laboratory, Santa Lucia Foundation, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Pica
- Neuroimaging Laboratory, Santa Lucia Foundation, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | | | | | - Carlo Caltagirone
- Department of Clinical and Behavioural Neurology, Santa Lucia Foundation, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Camillo Marra
- Institute of Neurology, Catholic University, Rome, Italy
| | - Marco Bozzali
- Neuroimaging Laboratory, Santa Lucia Foundation, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
- Brighton & Sussex Medical School, CISC, University of Sussex, Brighton, Falmer East Sussex, UK
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Serra L, Gelfo F, Petrosini L, Di Domenico C, Bozzali M, Caltagirone C. Rethinking the Reserve with a Translational Approach: Novel Ideas on the Construct and the Interventions. J Alzheimers Dis 2019; 65:1065-1078. [PMID: 30149458 DOI: 10.3233/jad-180609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
The concept of brain, cognitive, and neural reserves has been introduced to account for the apparent discrepancies between neurological damage and clinical manifestations. However, these ideas are yet theoretical suggestions that are not completely assimilated in the clinical routine. The mechanisms of the reserves have been extensively studied in neurodegenerative pathologies, in particular in Alzheimer's disease. Both human and animal studies addressed this topic by following two parallel pathways. The specific aim of the present review is to attempt to combine the suggestions derived from the two different research fields to deepen the knowledge about reserves. In fact, the achievement of a comprehensive theoretical framework on reserve mechanisms is an essential step to propose well-timed interventions tailored to the clinical characteristics of patients. The present review highlights the importance of addressing three main aspects: the definition of reserve proxy measures, the interaction between reserve level and therapeutic interventions, and the specific time-window of reserve efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Serra
- Neuroimaging Laboratory, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Francesca Gelfo
- Department of Clinical and Behavioural Neurology, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.,Department of Human Sciences, Guglielmo Marconi University, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Petrosini
- Laboratory of Experimental Neurophysiology and Behaviour, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.,Department of Psychology, University Sapienza of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Marco Bozzali
- Neuroimaging Laboratory, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.,Clinical Imaging Science Center, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton, UK
| | - Carlo Caltagirone
- Department of Clinical and Behavioural Neurology, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.,Department of Systemic Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
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Foti F, Piras F, Vicari S, Mandolesi L, Petrosini L, Menghini D. Observational Learning in Low-Functioning Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Behavioral and Neuroimaging Study. Front Psychol 2019; 9:2737. [PMID: 30687188 PMCID: PMC6338041 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2018] [Accepted: 12/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
New skills may be learned from the outcomes of their own internally generated actions (experiential learning) or from the observation of the consequences of externally generated actions (observational learning). Observational learning requires the coordination of cognitive functions and the processing of social information. Due to the “social” abilities underlying observational learning, the study of this process in individuals with limited social abilities such as those affected by Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is worthy of being investigated. We asked a group of 16 low-functioning young children with ASD and group of 16 sex- and mental age-matched typically developing (TD) children to build a house with a set of bricks after a video-demonstration showing an actor who built the house (observational task – OBS task) and then to build by trial and error another house (experiential task – EXP task). For ASD group, performances in learning tasks were correlated with measures of cortical thickness of specific Regions of Interest (ROI) and volume of deep gray matter structures known to be related with such kinds of learning. According to our a priori hypothesis, for OBS task we selected the following ROI: frontal lobe (pars opercularis, pars triangularis, and premotor area), parietal lobe (inferior parietal gyrus), temporal lobe (superior temporal gyrus), cerebellar hemispheres. For EXP task, we selected the following ROI: precentral frontal gyrus and superior frontal gyrus, cerebellar hemispheres, basal ganglia, thalamus. Although performances of ASD and TD children improved in both OBS and EXP tasks, children with ASD obtained lower scores of goal achievement than TD children in both learning tasks. Only in ASD group, goal achievement scores positively correlated with hyperimitations indicating that children with ASD tended to have a “copy-all” approach that facilitated the goal achievement. Moreover, the marked hyperimitative tendencies of children with ASD were positively associated with the thickness of left pars opercularis, left premotor area, and right superior temporal gyrus, areas belonging to mirror neuron system, and with the volume of both cerebellar hemispheres. These findings suggest that in children with ASD the hyperimitation can represent a learning strategy that might be related to the mirror neuron system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Foti
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Magna Græcia University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Stefano Vicari
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.,Department of Motor Sciences and Wellness, Università degli Studi di Napoli Parthenope, Naples, Italy
| | - Laura Petrosini
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.,Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Deny Menghini
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù, Rome, Italy
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Cutuli D, Berretta E, Laricchiuta D, Caporali P, Gelfo F, Petrosini L. Pre-reproductive Parental Enriching Experiences Influence Progeny's Developmental Trajectories. Front Behav Neurosci 2018; 12:254. [PMID: 30483072 PMCID: PMC6240645 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2018] [Accepted: 10/10/2018] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
While the positive effects of environmental enrichment (EE) applied after weaning, in adulthood, during aging, or even in the presence of brain damage have been widely described, the transgenerational effects of pre-reproductive EE have been less examined. And yet, this issue is remarkable given that parental environmental experience may imprint offspring’s phenotype over generations through many epigenetic processes. Interactions between individual and environment take place lifelong even before conception. In fact, the environment pre-reproductively experienced by the mother and/or the father exerts a substantial impact on neural development and motor and cognitive performances of the offspring, even if not directly exposed to social, cognitive, physical and/or motor enrichment. Furthermore, pre-reproductive parental enrichment exerts a transgenerational impact on coping response to stress as well as on the social behavior of the offspring. Among the effects of pre-reproductive parental EE, a potentiation of the maternal care and a decrease in global methylation levels in the frontal cortex and hippocampus of the progeny have been described. Finally, pre-reproductive EE modifies different pathways of neuromodulation in the brain of the offspring (involving brain-derived neurotrophic factor, oxytocin and glucocorticoid receptors). The present review highlights the importance of pre-reproductive parental enrichment in altering the performances not only of animals directly experiencing it, but also of their progeny, thus opening the way to new hypotheses on the inheritance mechanisms of behavioral traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Debora Cutuli
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.,Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Erica Berretta
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.,Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Daniela Laricchiuta
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.,Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Paola Caporali
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.,Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Francesca Gelfo
- Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.,Department of Human Sciences, Guglielmo Marconi University, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Petrosini
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.,Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
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Foti F, Menghini D, Alfieri P, Costanzo F, Mandolesi L, Petrosini L, Vicari S. Inside Front Cover: Cover Image, Volume 21, Issue 5. Dev Sci 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/desc.12731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Laricchiuta D, Andolina D, Angelucci F, Gelfo F, Berretta E, Puglisi-Allegra S, Petrosini L. Cerebellar BDNF Promotes Exploration and Seeking for Novelty. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 2018; 21:485-498. [PMID: 29471437 PMCID: PMC5932472 DOI: 10.1093/ijnp/pyy015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2017] [Revised: 01/29/2018] [Accepted: 02/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Approach system considered a motivational system that activates reward-seeking behavior is associated with exploration/impulsivity, whereas avoidance system considered an attentional system that promotes inhibition of appetitive responses is associated with active overt withdrawal. Approach and avoidance dispositions are modulated by distinct neurochemical profiles and synaptic patterns. However, the precise working of neurons and trafficking of molecules in the brain activity predisposing to approach and avoidance are yet unclear. Methods In 3 phenotypes of inbred mice, avoiding, balancing, and approaching mice, selected by using the Approach/Avoidance Y-maze, we analyzed endogenous brain levels of brain derived neurotrophic factor, one of the main secretory proteins with pleiotropic action. To verify the effects of the acute increase of brain derived neurotrophic factor, balancing and avoiding mice were bilaterally brain derived neurotrophic factor-infused in the cortical cerebellar regions. Results Approaching animals showed high levels of explorative behavior and response to novelty and exhibited higher brain derived neurotrophic factor levels in the cerebellar structures in comparison to the other 2 phenotypes of mice. Interestingly, brain derived neurotrophic factor-infused balancing and avoiding mice significantly increased their explorative behavior and response to novelty. Conclusions Cerebellar brain derived neurotrophic factor may play a role in explorative and novelty-seeking responses that sustain the approach predisposition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Laricchiuta
- Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University “Sapienza” of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Diego Andolina
- Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University “Sapienza” of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Francesco Angelucci
- Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
- Memory Clinic, Department of Neurology, Charles University, 2nd Faculty of Medicine and Motol University Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Francesca Gelfo
- Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
- Department of TeCoS, Guglielmo Marconi University, Rome, Italy
| | - Erica Berretta
- Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University “Sapienza” of Rome, Rome, Italy
- Behavioral Neuroscience PhD Programme
| | - Stefano Puglisi-Allegra
- Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University “Sapienza” of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Petrosini
- Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University “Sapienza” of Rome, Rome, Italy
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Cutuli D, Berretta E, Caporali P, Sampedro-Piquero P, De Bartolo P, Laricchiuta D, Gelfo F, Pesoli M, Foti F, Farioli Vecchioli S, Petrosini L. Effects of pre-reproductive maternal enrichment on maternal care, offspring's play behavior and oxytocinergic neurons. Neuropharmacology 2018; 145:99-113. [PMID: 29462694 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2018.02.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2017] [Revised: 02/15/2018] [Accepted: 02/17/2018] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Potentiating social, cognitive, and sensorimotor stimulations the Environmental Enrichment (EE) increases levels of novelty and complexity experienced by individuals. Growing evidence demonstrates that parental EE experience, even occurring in the pre-reproductive phase, affects behavioral and neural developmental trajectories of the offspring. To discover how the accumulation of early maternal complex experiences may inform and shape the social behavior of the following generation, we examined the effects of pre-reproductive enrichment of dams (post-natal days 21-72) on the play performances of their male and female adolescent offspring. Furthermore, we examined the effects of pre-reproductive enrichment on maternal behavior (during post-partum days 1-10) and male intruder aggression (on post-partum day 11). Since oxytocin modulates maternal care, social bonding, and agonistic behavior, the number of oxytocinergic neurons of the paraventricular (PVN) and supraoptic (SON) nuclei was examined in both dams and offspring. Results revealed that enriched females exhibited higher levels of pup-oriented behaviors, especially Crouching, and initiated pup-retrieval more quickly than standard females after the maternal aggression test. Such behavioral peculiarities were accompanied by increased levels of oxytocinergic neurons in PVN and SON. Moreover, pre-reproductive maternal EE cross-generationally influenced the offspring according to sex. Indeed, male pups born to enriched females exhibited a reduced play fighting associated with a higher number of oxytocinergic neurons in SON in comparison to male pups born to standard-housed females. In conclusion, pre-reproductive EE to the mothers affects their maternal care and has a cross-generational impact on the social behavior of their offspring that do not directly experiences EE. This article is part of the Special Issue entitled "Neurobiology of Environmental Enrichment".
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Affiliation(s)
- Debora Cutuli
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy; Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.
| | - Erica Berretta
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy; Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Paola Caporali
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Patricia Sampedro-Piquero
- Departamento de Psicobiología y Metodología de las Ciencias del Comportamiento. Facultad de Psicología, Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Málaga (IBIMA), Universidad de Málaga, Spain
| | - Paola De Bartolo
- Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy; Department of TeCoS, Guglielmo Marconi University, Rome, Italy
| | - Daniela Laricchiuta
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy; Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Francesca Gelfo
- Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy; Department of TeCoS, Guglielmo Marconi University, Rome, Italy
| | - Matteo Pesoli
- Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy; Department of Motor Science and Wellness, University Parthenope, Naples, Italy
| | - Francesca Foti
- Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy; Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy
| | | | - Laura Petrosini
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy; Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
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44
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Foti F, Menghini D, Alfieri P, Costanzo F, Mandolesi L, Petrosini L, Vicari S. Learning by observation and learning by doing in Down and Williams syndromes. Dev Sci 2017; 21:e12642. [PMID: 29280247 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2016] [Accepted: 10/19/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
New skills may be learned by active experience (experiential learning or learning by doing) or by observation of others' experience (learning by observation). In general, learning by observation reduces the time and the attempts needed to learn complex actions and behaviors. The present research aimed to compare learning by observation and learning by doing in two clinical populations with different etiology of intellectual disability (ID), as individuals with Down syndrome (DS) and individuals with Williams syndrome (WS), with the hypothesis that specific profiles of learning may be found in each syndrome. To this end, we used a mixture of new and existing data to compare the performances of 24 individuals with DS, 24 individuals with WS and 24 typically developing children on computerized tasks of learning by observation or learning by doing. The main result was that the two groups with ID exhibited distinct patterns of learning by observation. Thus, individuals with DS were impaired in reproducing the previously observed visuo-motor sequence, while they were as efficient as TD children in the experiential learning task. On the other hand, individuals with WS benefited from the observational training while they were severely impaired in detecting the visuo-motor sequence in the experiential learning task (when presented first). The present findings reinforce the syndrome-specific hypothesis and the view of ID as a variety of conditions in which some cognitive functions are more disrupted than others because of the differences in genetic profile and brain morphology and functionality. These findings have important implications for clinicians, who should take into account the genetic etiology of ID in developing learning programs for treatment and education.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Foti
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy.,Department of Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Deny Menghini
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù, Rome, Italy
| | - Paolo Alfieri
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù, Rome, Italy
| | - Floriana Costanzo
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.,Department of Motor Science and Wellness, University Parthenope, Naples, Italy
| | - Laura Petrosini
- Department of Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Stefano Vicari
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù, Rome, Italy
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45
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Soligo M, Piccinin S, Protto V, Gelfo F, De Stefano ME, Florenzano F, Berretta E, Petrosini L, Nisticò R, Manni L. Recovery of hippocampal functions and modulation of muscarinic response by electroacupuncture in young diabetic rats. Sci Rep 2017; 7:9077. [PMID: 28831054 PMCID: PMC5567336 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-08556-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2017] [Accepted: 07/11/2017] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The muscarinic receptor response to acetylcholine regulates the hippocampal-related learning, memory, neural plasticity and the production and processing of the pro-nerve growth factor (proNGF) by hippocampal cells. The development and progression of diabetes generate a mild cognitive impairment reducing the functions of the septo-hippocampal cholinergic circuitry, depressing neural plasticity and inducing proNGF accumulation in the brain. Here we demonstrate, in a rat model of early type-1 diabetes, that a physical therapy, the electroacupuncture, counteracts the diabetes-induced deleterious effects on hippocampal physiology by ameliorating hippocampal-related memory functions; recovering the impaired long-term potentiation at the dentate gyrus (DG-LTP) and the lowered expression of the vesicular glutamate transporter 1; normalizing the activity-dependent release of proNGF in diabetic rat hippocampus. Electroacupuncture exerted its therapeutic effects by regulating the expression and activity of M1- and M2-acetylcholine muscarinic receptors subtypes in the dentate gyrus of hippocampus. Our results suggest that a physical therapy based on repetitive sensory stimulation could promote hippocampal neural activity, neuronal metabolism and functions, and conceivably improve the diabetes-induced cognitive impairment. Our data can support the setup of therapeutic protocols based on a better integration between physical therapies and pharmacology for the cure of diabetes-associated neurodegeneration and possibly for Alzheimer’s disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marzia Soligo
- Institute of Translational Pharmacology, Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche (CNR), Rome, Italy
| | - Sonia Piccinin
- European Brain Research Institute (EBRI), Rita Levi-Montalcini Foundation, Rome, Italy
| | - Virginia Protto
- Institute of Translational Pharmacology, Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche (CNR), Rome, Italy
| | - Francesca Gelfo
- I.R.C.C.S., Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy.,Department of Systemic Medicine, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, Italy
| | - Maria Egle De Stefano
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology "Charles Darwin", Sapienza University of Rome, Laboratory affiliated to Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Rome, Italy
| | - Fulvio Florenzano
- European Brain Research Institute (EBRI), Rita Levi-Montalcini Foundation, Rome, Italy
| | - Erica Berretta
- I.R.C.C.S., Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy.,Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University "Sapienza" of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Petrosini
- I.R.C.C.S., Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy.,Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University "Sapienza" of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Robert Nisticò
- European Brain Research Institute (EBRI), Rita Levi-Montalcini Foundation, Rome, Italy.,Department of Biology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - Luigi Manni
- Institute of Translational Pharmacology, Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche (CNR), Rome, Italy.
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Foti F, Martone D, Orrù S, Montuori S, Imperlini E, Buono P, Petrosini L, Mandolesi L. Are young children able to learn exploratory strategies by observation? Psychol Res 2017; 82:1212-1223. [PMID: 28725993 PMCID: PMC6132659 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-017-0896-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2016] [Accepted: 07/14/2017] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
New competencies may be learned through active experience (experiential learning or learning by doing) or observation of others' experiences (learning by observation). Observing another person performing a complex action facilitates the observer's acquisition of the same action. The present research is aimed at analyzing if the observation of specific explorative strategies adopted in a constrained environment, such as the Radial Arm Maze (RAM), could help young children to explore the maze and to build a cognitive spatial map of the explored environment. To this aim young children were randomly assigned to three groups: children who performed the RAM task following the observation of an actor solving the same maze by putting into action a highly structured exploratory strategy; children who performed the RAM task following the observation of the actor solving the same maze by putting into action a less structured exploratory strategy; children who directly performed the RAM task without any observation. The main result of the present research is that the children who observed the highly structured and correct exploratory strategy spent less time, made fewer errors, exhibited a longer spatial span, and thus they explored the maze more efficiently than the children who directly performed the RAM task without any observation. This finding indicates that when the observed explorative procedure is structured, sequential and repetitive the action understanding and information storage processes are more effective. Importantly, the observation of specific spatial strategies helped the children to build the cognitive spatial map of the explored environment and consequently to acquire/enrich the declarative knowledge of the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Foti
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University "Magna Graecia", Catanzaro, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via del Fosso di Fiorano 65, 00143, Rome, Italy
| | - Domenico Martone
- Department of Movement Sciences and Wellbeing, University "Parthenope", Naples, Italy
| | - Stefania Orrù
- Department of Movement Sciences and Wellbeing, University "Parthenope", Naples, Italy.,Fondazione IRCCS SDN, Naples, Italy
| | - Simone Montuori
- Department of Movement Sciences and Wellbeing, University "Parthenope", Naples, Italy
| | | | - Pasqualina Buono
- Department of Movement Sciences and Wellbeing, University "Parthenope", Naples, Italy.,Fondazione IRCCS SDN, Naples, Italy
| | - Laura Petrosini
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via del Fosso di Fiorano 65, 00143, Rome, Italy.,Department of Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via del Fosso di Fiorano 65, 00143, Rome, Italy. .,Department of Movement Sciences and Wellbeing, University "Parthenope", Naples, Italy. .,Department of Motor Science and Wellbeing, University "Parthenope", Via Medina, 40, 80133, Naples, Italy.
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Abstract
The immunotoxin 192 IgG-saporin selectively destroys basal forebrain cholinergic neurons that provide cholinergic input to the hippocampus, entire cortical mantle, amygdala, and olfactory bulb. Perinatal immunotoxic lesions by 192 IgG-saporin induce long-lasting cholinergic depletion mimicking a number of developmental disorders reported in humans. The perinatal injection of 192 IgG-saporin induces several brain modifications, which are observed in neocortex and hippocampus at short and long term. These plastic changes involve both structural (alterations in brain volume, neuronal morphology, and neurogenesis) and molecular (modulations of the levels of neurotransmitters and other proteins related to neurodegeneration) levels. Moreover, the perinatal injection of 192 IgG-saporin may interact with the brain plastic capacity to react to other injuries. Perinatal 192 IgG-saporin lesions allowed investigating the role of the basal forebrain cholinergic system in modulating behavioral functions in developing as well as adult rats. After perinatal cholinergic depletion, rats display reduced ultrasonic vocalizations as neonates, learning and exploratory deficits as juveniles, altered discriminative abilities, impulsive and perseverative behaviors, and memory deficits as adults. Overall, these findings underline the importance of cholinergic system integrity for the development of specific structural and functional features.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Petrosini
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via del Fosso di Fiorano 64, 00143, Rome, Italy. .,Department of Psychology, University Sapienza of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185, Rome, Italy.
| | - Paola De Bartolo
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via del Fosso di Fiorano 64, 00143, Rome, Italy.,Department of Sociological and Psychopedagogical Studies, University Guglielmo Marconi of Rome, Via Plinio 44, 00193, Rome, Italy
| | - Debora Cutuli
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via del Fosso di Fiorano 64, 00143, Rome, Italy.,Department of Psychology, University Sapienza of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Francesca Gelfo
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via del Fosso di Fiorano 64, 00143, Rome, Italy.,Department of Systemic Medicine, University of Tor Vergata, Via Montpellier 1, 00133, Rome, Italy
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48
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Cutuli D, Berretta E, Pasqualini G, De Bartolo P, Caporali P, Laricchiuta D, Sampedro-Piquero P, Gelfo F, Pesoli M, Foti F, Begega A, Petrosini L. Influence of Pre-reproductive Maternal Enrichment on Coping Response to Stress and Expression of c-Fos and Glucocorticoid Receptors in Adolescent Offspring. Front Behav Neurosci 2017; 11:73. [PMID: 28536510 PMCID: PMC5422443 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2016] [Accepted: 04/07/2017] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Environmental enrichment (EE) is an experimental setting broadly used for investigating the effects of complex social, cognitive, and sensorimotor stimulations on brain structure and function. Recent studies point out that parental EE experience, even occurring in the pre-reproductive phase, affects neural development and behavioral trajectories of the offspring. In the present study we investigated the influences of pre-reproductive EE of female rats on maternal behavior and adolescent male offspring's coping response to an inescapable stressful situation after chronic social isolation. For this purpose female Wistar rats were housed from weaning to breeding age in enriched or standard environments. Subsequently, all females were mated and housed in standard conditions until offspring weaning. On the first post partum day (ppd 1), mother-pup interactions in undisturbed conditions were recorded. Further, after weaning the male pups were reared for 2 weeks under social isolation or in standard conditions, and then submitted or not to a single-session Forced Swim Test (FST). Offspring's neuronal activation and plastic changes were identified by immunohistochemistry for c-Fos and glucocorticoid receptors (GRs), and assessed by using stereological analysis. The biochemical correlates were measured in the hippocampus, amygdala and cingulate cortex, structures involved in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis regulation. Enriched dams exhibited increased Crouching levels in comparison to standard reared dams. In the offspring of both kinds of dams, social isolation reduced body weight, decreased Immobility, and increased Swimming during FST. Moreover, isolated offspring of enriched dams exhibited higher levels of Climbing in comparison to controls. Interestingly, in the amygdala of both isolated and control offspring of enriched dams we found a lower number of c-Fos immunopositive cells in response to FST and a higher number of GRs in comparison to the offspring of standard dams. These results highlight the profound influence of a stressful condition, such as the social isolation, on the brain of adolescent rats, and underline intergenerational effects of maternal experiences in regulating the offspring response to stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Debora Cutuli
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of RomeRome, Italy.,Santa Lucia FoundationRome, Italy
| | - Erica Berretta
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of RomeRome, Italy.,Santa Lucia FoundationRome, Italy
| | - Greta Pasqualini
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of RomeRome, Italy.,Santa Lucia FoundationRome, Italy
| | - Paola De Bartolo
- Santa Lucia FoundationRome, Italy.,Department of TeCoS, Marconi UniversityRome, Italy
| | - Paola Caporali
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of RomeRome, Italy
| | - Daniela Laricchiuta
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of RomeRome, Italy.,Santa Lucia FoundationRome, Italy
| | - Patricia Sampedro-Piquero
- Department of Biological and Health Psychology, Psychology Faculty, Autonomous University of MadridMadrid, Spain
| | - Francesca Gelfo
- Santa Lucia FoundationRome, Italy.,Department of Systemic Medicine, University of Rome Tor VergataRome, Italy
| | - Matteo Pesoli
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of RomeRome, Italy.,Santa Lucia FoundationRome, Italy
| | - Francesca Foti
- Santa Lucia FoundationRome, Italy.,Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Magna Graecia UniversityCatanzaro, Italy
| | - Azucena Begega
- Neuroscience Laboratory, Psychology Department, University of OviedoOviedo, Spain
| | - Laura Petrosini
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of RomeRome, Italy.,Santa Lucia FoundationRome, Italy
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Punzi M, Gili T, Petrosini L, Caltagirone C, Spalletta G, Sensi SL. Modafinil-Induced Changes in Functional Connectivity in the Cortex and Cerebellum of Healthy Elderly Subjects. Front Aging Neurosci 2017; 9:85. [PMID: 28424611 PMCID: PMC5371677 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2017.00085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2016] [Accepted: 03/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
In the past few years, cognitive enhancing drugs (CEDs) have gained growing interest and the focus of investigations aimed at exploring their use to potentiate the cognitive performances of healthy individuals. Most of this exploratory CED-related research has been performed on young adults. However, CEDs may also help to maintain optimal brain functioning or compensate for subtle and or subclinical deficits associated with brain aging or early-stage dementia. In this study, we assessed effects on resting state brain activity in a group of healthy elderly subjects undergoing acute administration of modafinil, a wakefulness-promoting agent. To that aim, participants (n = 24) were investigated with resting state functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (rs-fMRI) before and after the administration of a single dose (100 mg) of modafinil. Effects were compared to age and size-matched placebo group. Rs-fMRI effects were assessed, employing a graph-based approach and Eigenvector Centrality (EC) analysis, by taking in account topological changes occurring in functional brain networks. The main finding of the study is that modafinil promotes enhanced centrality, a measure of the importance of nodes within functional networks, of the bilateral primary visual (V1) cortex. EC analysis also revealed that modafinil-treated subjects show increased functional connectivity between the V1 and specific cerebellar (Crus I, Crus II, VIIIa lobule) and frontal (right inferior frontal sulcus and left middle frontal gyrus) regions. Present findings provide functional data supporting the hypothesis that modafinil can modulate the cortico-cerebellar connectivity of the aging brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miriam Punzi
- Department of Neurosciences, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-PescaraChieti, Italy.,Molecular Neurology Unit, Center of Excellence on Aging and Translational Medicine (Ce.S.I.-Me.T.), "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-PescaraChieti, Italy
| | - Tommaso Gili
- Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche Enrico FermiRome, Italy.,Santa Lucia FoundationRome, Italy
| | - Laura Petrosini
- Santa Lucia FoundationRome, Italy.,Department of Psychology, Section of Neuroscience and "Daniel Bovet" Neurobiology Research Center, Sapienza University of RomeRome, Italy
| | - Carlo Caltagirone
- Santa Lucia FoundationRome, Italy.,Department of Medicine of Systems, University of Rome Tor VergataRome, Italy
| | | | - Stefano L Sensi
- Department of Neurosciences, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-PescaraChieti, Italy.,Molecular Neurology Unit, Center of Excellence on Aging and Translational Medicine (Ce.S.I.-Me.T.), "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-PescaraChieti, Italy.,Departments of Neurology and Pharmacology, Institute for Mind Impairments and Neurological Disorders, University of California, Irvine, IrvineCA, USA
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50
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Gelfo F, Cutuli D, Nobili A, De Bartolo P, D’Amelio M, Petrosini L, Caltagirone C. Chronic Lithium Treatment in a Rat Model of Basal Forebrain Cholinergic Depletion: Effects on Memory Impairment and Neurodegeneration. J Alzheimers Dis 2017; 56:1505-1518. [DOI: 10.3233/jad-160892] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Gelfo
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
- Department of Systemic Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - Debora Cutuli
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Annalisa Nobili
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
- Department of Medicine, Medical School, Campus Bio-Medico University, Rome, Italy
| | - Paola De Bartolo
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
- Department of TECOS, Guglielmo Marconi University, Rome, Italy
| | - Marcello D’Amelio
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
- Department of Medicine, Medical School, Campus Bio-Medico University, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Petrosini
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Carlo Caltagirone
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
- Department of Systemic Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
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