scholarly journals The Role of The RNA Demethylase FTO (Fat Mass and Obesity-Associated) and mRNA Methylation in Hippocampal Memory Formation

2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (7) ◽  
pp. 1502-1510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brandon J Walters ◽  
Valentina Mercaldo ◽  
Colleen J Gillon ◽  
Matthew Yip ◽  
Rachael L Neve ◽  
...  
MicroRNA ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 09 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sadniman Rahman ◽  
Chaity Modak ◽  
Mousumi Akter ◽  
Mohammad Shamimul Alam

Background: Learning and memory is basic aspects in neurogenetics as most of the neurological disorders start with dementia or memory loss. Several genes associated with memory formation have been discovered. MicroRNA genes miR-1000 and miR-375 were reported to be associated with neural integration and glucose homeostasis in some insects and vertebrates. However, neuronal function of these genes is yet to be established in D. melanogaster. Objective: Possible role of miR-1000 and miR-375 in learning and memory formation in this fly has been explored in the present study. Methods: Both appetitive and aversive olfactory conditional learning were tested in the miR-1000 and miR-375 knockout (KO) strains and compared with wild one. Five days old third instar larvae were trained by allowing them to be associated with an odor with reward (fructose) or punishment (salt). Then, the larvae were tested to calculate their preferences to the odor trained with. Learning index (LI) values and larval locomotion speed were calculated for all strains. Results: No significant difference was observed for larval locomotion speed in mutant strains. Knockout strain of miR-1000 showed significant deficiency in both appetitive and aversive memory formation whereas miR-375 KO strain showed a significantly lower response only in appetitive one. Conclusion: The results of the present study indicate important role played by these two genes in forming short-term memory in D. melanogaster.


2012 ◽  
Vol 105 (5) ◽  
pp. 1168-1174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmel M. McDermott ◽  
Dana Liu ◽  
Laura A. Schrader

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (12) ◽  
pp. eaat3702 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. L. Johnson ◽  
L. Tang ◽  
Q. Yin ◽  
E. Asano ◽  
N. Ofen

Prevailing theories link prefrontal cortex (PFC) maturation to the development of declarative memory. However, the precise spatiotemporal correlates of memory formation in the developing brain are not known. We provide rare intracranial evidence that the spatiotemporal propagation of frontal activity supports memory formation in children. Seventeen subjects (6.2 to 19.4 years) studied visual scenes in preparation for a recognition memory test while undergoing direct cortical monitoring. Earlier PFC activity predicted greater accuracy, and subsecond deviations in activity flow between subregions predicted memory formation. Activity flow between inferior and precentral sites was refined during adolescence, partially explaining gains in memory. In contrast, middle frontal activity predicted memory independent of age. These findings show with subsecond temporal precision that the developing PFC links scene perception and memory formation and underscore the role of the PFC in supporting memory development.


Circulation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (Suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Pini

Introduction: Sedentary lifestyle and excessive calorie intake are risk factors for CVD. We have demonstrated the cardioprotective effect of exercise in aged mice and the critical role of visceral adiposity and its profibrotic secretome in increasing cardiovascular risks in obesity and aging. The association between exercise, lowered plasma leptin and reduced inflammatory leukocytes has been recently shown in patients with atherosclerosis. It remains unclear whether elevated plasma leptin can preserve or alter cardiovascular function in obesity. Methods: We analyzed the effect of high fat diet (HFD) in C57BL/6J male mice on the heart in terms of function, structure, histology and key molecular markers. Two interventions were used: 1) active fat mass loss via exercise (daily swimming) during HFD; 2) passive fat mass loss via surgical removal of the visceral adipose tissue (VAT lipectomy) followed by HFD. Results: HFD increased body weight and adiposity, leading to higher plasma leptin, glucose and insulin levels, compared to control diet (CD) mice. HFD impaired left ventricle (LV) structure (hypertrophy, interstitial fibrosis) and cardiac function (echocardiography, in vivo hemodynamics). Atria of HFD mice had enhanced pro-inflammatory protein production. Exercise reduced circulating leptin levels in HFD mice by 50%, in line with fat mass loss. In contrast, lipectomy reduced visceral fat mass, but body weight, adiposity and plasma leptin did not change. Both exercise and VAT lipectomy improved cardiac contractility, reversed collagen deposition and oxidative stress in HFD mice. Both interventions downregulated LV pro-inflammatory markers. We proved the role of leptin in cardiac remodeling in vitro by incubating primary cardiac fibroblasts with hyperleptinemic plasma from HFD mice. Remarkably, plasma from HFD-EX (exercise) suppressed the fibro-proliferative and pro-inflammatory responses of cardiac fibroblasts. Conclusions: Leptin directly contribute to cardiac fibrosis in obesity via activation and proliferation of cardiac fibroblasts. Understanding how leptin signals to the heart might have implications in a wide range of CVD, potentially helping early stratification and personalized care.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Le Roy ◽  
Ruth Bowyer ◽  
Claire Steves ◽  
Tim Spector ◽  
Bell Jordana

Abstract Objectives Accumulation of visceral fat mass (VFM) is a major risk factor for cardiovascular and metabolic disease. Both gut microbiota and diet have been shown to impact host adiposity in an interdependent manner, but the exact nature of their joint contributions has not been characterised. Here, we aimed to estimate and separate the effect of gut microbiota composition from that of nutrient intake on host VFM in of 1760 older female twins. Methods The gut microbiome profile was assessed by 16S sequencing. VFM was measured by DEXA whole body scan and nutrient intake was assessed through food frequency questionnaires. We used a combination of pair-wise associations, random forest modelling and mediation analysis to separate the effect of the gut microbiota and nutrients on VFM. Results Pairwise analyses revealed that 93 OTUs and 10 nutrients were significantly linked to VFM. Five of the 10 nutrients (fibre, trans fatty acids, magnesium, vitamin E and biotin) were also associated with 23% of the 93 VFM-associated OTUs. To separate the effects of the gut microbiota from nutrients on VFM we carried out conditional analyses. We observed that the majority (87%) of the 93 OTUs remained significantly associated with VFM irrespective of nutrient intake correction. In contrast, we observed that fibre, magnesium, biotin and vitamin E were no longer significantly associated with VFM when adjusting models for OTUs (P > 0.05), implying a role of the gut microbiota in mediating these nutrient effects on VFM. Formal mediation analysis revealed that the individual effect of fibre, biotin, magnesium and vitamin E on VFM were mediated at 69, 43, 41 and 31% respectively by OTUs. Moreover, we estimated that accumulated effect of OTUs on VFM (R2 = 0.19) was twice the one of nutrients (R2 = 0.11) and so were their prediction potential determined using random forest classification. Conclusions Our results suggest that while the role of certain nutrients on VFM appears to depend on gut microbiota composition, specific gut microbes may affect host adiposity regardless of dietary intake. The findings imply that the gut microbiota may have a greater contribution towards shaping host adiposity and VFM, compared to diet alone. Funding Sources We gratefully acknowledge support provided by the JPI HDHL funded DINAMIC consortium (administered by the MRC UK, MR/N030125/1). Supporting Tables, Images and/or Graphs


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 138-145
Author(s):  
Thomas W. Roberts ◽  
Michael L. Chafin

The purpose of this article is to review the symbolic-experiential family therapy model of Carl Whitaker and apply it specifically to recent neuroscience findings. The article concludes that symbolic-experiential family therapy reflects many of the recent findings in neuroscience including the role of implicit learning and memory formation, the importance of the relationship between the couple or family and the therapist, increasing stress and anxiety in order to facilitate change, which activates the right brain, and unstructured and spontaneous interaction, which promotes brain reorganization.


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