Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2015-12-17T18:50:18Z No. of bitstreams: 1 mayarasilvadamata.pdf: 1134340 bytes, checksum: c4c65cefb5b2804563f056ccd867cdfe (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2016-01-25T15:09:09Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 mayarasilvadamata.pdf: 1134340 bytes, checksum: c4c65cefb5b2804563f056ccd867cdfe (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-01-25T15:09:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 mayarasilvadamata.pdf: 1134340 bytes, checksum: c4c65cefb5b2804563f056ccd867cdfe (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-02-10 / O álcool elicia prejuízo em habilidades cognitivas, tais como as funções executivas (FE), que incluem vários constructos distinguíveis. Assim, o conhecimento dos efeitos agudos desta substância sobre os constructos das FE é necessário para melhor caracterizar seus potenciais efeitos cognitivos. Objetivo: Verificar os efeitos agudos do álcool no desempenho de seis constructos eleitos das funções executivas (alternância, atualização, inibição, eficiência do acesso à memória de longo prazo, planejamento, dupla tarefa) em jovens saudáveis. Metodologia: Foram recrutados 45 indivíduos do sexo masculino com idades entre 18 e 30 anos que eram bebedores sociais. Eles foram alocados aleatoriamente em três grupos de 15 participantes: um grupo cuja dose de álcool era de 0,6 g/kg de peso; outro de 1,0 g/kg de peso; e o grupo placebo. Resultados: Não foram detectadas diferenças significativas entre grupos nos testes executivos. Discussão: Foram determinados os tamanhos de amostras necessários para a observação de efeitos de álcool nesta população, que foram em geral bastante elevados. Conclusão: O presente estudo foi pioneiro no Brasil no âmbito proposto e encontrou magnitudes de efeito de relevância clínica para os constructos: alternância, fluência semântica, inibição e atualização. / Alcohol (ethanol) elicits impairment in cognitive abilities such as executive functions (EF), which includes various separable constructs. Thus, knowledge of the acute effects of this substance on the constructs of EF is necessary to better characterize its potential cognitive effects. Objective: To investigate the acute effects of alcohol on performance of six elected constructs of executive functions (shifting, updating, inhibition, access to long-term memory, planning, dual-tasking) in young healthy individuals. Methods: we recruited 45 male subjects aged between 18 and 30 years who were social drinkers. They were randomly allocated to three groups of 15 participants: one group whose alcohol dose was 0.6 g / kg; another group whose dose was 1.0 g / kg; and the placebo group. Results: No group significant differences were found in the executive tests. Discussion: It was determined the sample size necessary to monitor the effects of alcohol in this population were generally quite high. Conclusion: The present study was pioneer in Brazil in the proposed framework and found effect magnitudes of clinical relevance for the constructs: shifting, semantic fluency, inhibition and updating.

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2016-01-19T16:24:04Z No. of bitstreams: 1 julianealvarezdetoledo.pdf: 5687649 bytes, checksum: 089e1997adee1c910ab6e02c0cef5b85 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2016-01-25T17:59:53Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 julianealvarezdetoledo.pdf: 5687649 bytes, checksum: 089e1997adee1c910ab6e02c0cef5b85 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-01-25T17:59:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 julianealvarezdetoledo.pdf: 5687649 bytes, checksum: 089e1997adee1c910ab6e02c0cef5b85 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-11-28 / FAPEMIG - Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais / Introdução: O uso do etanol é mais comum entre os adultos jovens e é uma substância capaz de causar danos significativos ao SNC, afetando diretamente processos neuromaturacionais e consequentemente, habilidades cognitivas complexas, tais como as Funções Executivas (FE). Assim, o conhecimento dos efeitos agudos desta substância sobre os constructos das FE é necessário para traçar o perfil do funcionamento cognitivo, que pode vir a ser afetado pelo uso desta substância. Objetivo: Verificar os efeitos agudos do etanol no desempenho dos três constructos eleitos das funções executivas em estudantes universitários de Juiz de Fora que são usuários ocasionais de álcool. Metodologia: Foram recrutados 45 indivíduos do sexo masculino, com idades entre 18 e 30 anos, que foram submetidos aos testes para caracterização da amostra e em seguida, alocados aleatoriamente em três grupos de 15 participantes: um grupo cuja dose de etanol era de 0,6 mg/kg de peso; outro de 1,0 mg/kg de peso; e o grupo placebo; todas acrescidas à 300 ml de cerveja sem álcool gelada. Os testes específicos para avaliação dos constructos das FE. foram realizados próximo ao pico de absorção do etanol, cerca de 40 minutos após a ingestão. Resultados: Houve diferença entre grupos na medida do etilômetro pós-teste e os três grupos foram diferentes entre si. Não houve diferença significativa entre os resultados obtidos nos demais testes. Discussão: Os achados corroboram estudos prévios com administração de etanol em indivíduos humanos em que não foram encontrados efeitos agudos decorrentes do consumo de álcool sobre os constructos das FE. Conclusão: O presente estudo foi pioneiro no Brasil para avaliação de jovens universitários no âmbito proposto. Novos estudos são necessários, com maior número de participantes, de ambos os sexos, para a definição da dose de etanol que seja capaz de afetar as FE e de reproduzir resultados em laboratório. / Introduction: Ethanol use is more common among young adults and it`s a substance capable of causing significant damage to the central nervous system, affecting neuromaturational processes directly and consequently, complex cognitive abilities such as executive functions (EF). Thus, knowledge of the acute effects of this substance on the constructs of EF is necessary to profile the cognitive functioning, which may ultimately be affected by the use of this substance. Objective: To investigate the acute effects of ethanol on performance of three elected constructs of executive functions in university students of Juiz de Fora who are occasional users of alcohol. Methods: 45 male subjects, aged between 18 and 30 years who were tested to characterize the sample and then were randomly allocated into three groups of 15 participants: one group whose ethanol dose was 0.6 mg / kg; another group whose dose was 1.0 mg / kg; and the placebo group; all of it was added to 300 ml of chilled alcohol free beer. The specific tests to evaluate the components of EF were performed near the peak absorption of ethanol, about 40 minutes after ingestion. Results: There were differences between groups in the extent of post-breathalyzer test and the three groups were different. There was no significant difference between the results obtained in the other tests. Discussion: These findings corroborate to previous studies with administration of ethanol in human subjects in which no acute effects of consuming alcohol on the constructs of EF were found. Conclusion: The present study was pioneer in Brazil for evaluation of university students in the proposed framework. Further studies are needed with larger numbers of participants, of both sexes, to define the dose of ethanol that is capable of affecting the FE and reproduce laboratory results.

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Introduction: Methamphetamine is a drug frequently abused by drug-addicted pregnant women and also one of the mostcommonly used drugs in the CzechRepublic. This drug passes easily through a placental barrier into the fetus. Thus it can negatively affect not only the mother but also the prenatal development of her offspring. Objectives: In the framework of the grant project GA CR: 14-03708S, the long-term effects of prenatal exposure to methamphetamine were detected. It was determined whether the prenatal methamphetamine exposure affects the generation of offspring of exposed females at the level of gene expression of genes in specific regions of the brain, striatum, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. Methods: In the selected parts of the brain, which were removed from the rat, the microarray hybridization and the real-time PCR to express changes in expression of selected genes were performed. Results: Statistical analysis of microarray hybridization did not show the significantly altered gene expression in tested genes significantly. Only boundary values for 13 genes were measured, which were further tested by real-time PCR.After a statistic evaluation of real-time PCR, the significantly altered expression was found in 2 genes. The significantly changed expression of DRD3 and TACR3 genes was found...

Introduction: Methamphetamine is a drug frequently taken by drug-addicted pregnant women and happens to be one of the most commonly used drugs in the Czech Republic. This drug passes easily through a placental barrier into the fetus. Thus it can negatively affect not only the mother but also the prenatal development of her offspring. Objectives: This research aims to provide a general screening of gene expression in selected regions of the F1 generation of the brain prenatally affected by methamphetamine, to verify whether exposure to methamphetamine affects the generation of offspring of exposed females at the level of gene expression in selected regions of the brain, and to valuate possible changes in gene expression. Methods: In selected parts of the brain, collected from a rat, the microarray hybridization and the real-time PCR were set to evaluate express changes in the expression of selected genes. Results: Statistical analysis of the microarray hybridization did not show a significantly altered gene expression in the tested genes. Only boundary values for 13 genes were measured, which were further tested by the real-time PCR. After a statistic evaluation of the real-time PCR, the significantly altered expression was found in 2 genes. The notably changed expression of DRD3 and TACR3 genes...

Previous studies suggest that non-invasive transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applied to the prefrontal cortex modulates food choices and calorie intake in obese humans. In a fully randomized, placebo-controlled, within-subject and double-blinded study, we applied single sessions of anodal, cathodal, and sham tDCS to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and contralateral frontal operculum in 25 hungry obese women and investigated possible influences on food reappraisal abilities as well as calorie intake. We hypothesized that tDCS, (i) improves the ability to regulate the desire for visually presented foods and, (ii) reduces their consumption. We could not confirm an effect of anodal or cathodal tDCS, neither on the ability to modulate the desire for visually presented foods, nor on calorie consumption. The present findings do not support the notion of prefrontal/frontal tDCS as a promising treatment option for obesity.:1. Introduction 1.1 Obejective of investigation 1.1.1 Obesity 1.1.2 Homeostasis versus hedonism? 1.1.3 Regulating the desire to eat 1.1.4 Obesity and the brain 1.2 Previous studies 1.2.1 EEG study 1.2.2 Buffet study 1.3 Transcranial direct current stimulation (TDCS) 1.4 TDCS study 2 Publication 3 Summary of work 3.1 Data Acquisition ans analysis 3.2 Results and discussion 3.2.1 Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence 3.2.2 Multifactorial influence on behavior 3.2.3 Limitations of study design 3.2.4 Limitations of method 3.3 Outlook 4 References 5 Attachments 5.1 Academic contribution 5.2 Erklärung über die eigenständige Abfassung der Arbeit 5.3 Einreichungserklärung 5.4 Curriculum vitae 5.5 Publications 5.6 Acknowledgements

Stress resilience in parenting depends on the parent's capacity to understand subjective experiences in self and child, namely intersubjectivity, which is intimately related to mimicking other's affective expressions (i. e., mirroring). Stress can worsen parenting by potentiating problems that can impair intersubjectivity, e.g., problems of “over-mentalizing” (misattribution of the child's behaviors) and “under-coupling” (inadequate child-oriented mirroring). Previously we have developed Mom Power (MP) parenting intervention to promote maternal intersubjectivity and reduce parenting stress. This study aimed to elucidate neural mechanisms underlying the effects of MP with a novel Child Face Mirroring Task (CFMT) in functional magnetic-resonance-imaging settings. In CFMT, the participants responded to own and other's child's facial pictures in three task conditions: (1) empathic mirroring (Join), (2) non-mirroring observing (Observe), and (3) voluntary responding (React). In each condition, each child's neutral, ambiguous, distressed, and joyful expressions were repeatedly displayed. We examined the CFMT-related neural responses in a sample of healthy mothers (n = 45) in Study 1, and MP effects on CFMT with a pre-intervention (T1) and post-intervention (T2) design in two groups, MP (n = 19) and Control (n = 17), in Study 2. We found that, from T1 to T2, MP (vs. Control) decreased parenting stress, decreased dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) during own-child-specific voluntary responding (React to Own vs. Other's Child), and increased activity in the frontoparietal cortices, midbrain, nucleus accumbens, and amygdala during own-child-specific empathic mirroring (Join vs. Observe of Own vs. Other's Child). We identified that MP effects on parenting stress were potentially mediated by T1-to-T2 changes in: (1) the left superior-temporal-gyrus differential responses in the contrast of Join vs. Observe of own (vs. other's) child, (2) the dmPFC-PAG (periaqueductal gray) differential functional connectivity in the same contrast, and (3) the left amygdala differential responses in the contrast of Join vs. Observe of own (vs. other's) child's joyful vs. distressed expressions. We discussed these results in support of the notion that MP reduces parenting stress via changing neural activities related to the problems of “over-mentalizing” and “under-coupling.” Additionally, we discussed theoretical relationships between parenting stress and intersubjectivity in a novel dyadic active inference framework in a two-agent system to guide future research.

Early-life stress, consisting of several stressors appears to be associated with several impacts on the brain. The impacts of stress seem to be more vulnerable to the developing brain as it undergoes important changes during childhood. This thesis aims to present the association between childhood maltreatment, which is a form of early-life stress, and affected brain regions such as the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, corpus callosum, and the amygdala. The findings in this thesis demonstrated the left hippocampus to be more vulnerable to the effects of maltreatment, corpus callosum appeared to be gender and maltreatment specific, indicating that the corpus callosum were more vulnerable to neglect in boys whereas in females the structure was more vulnerable to sexual abuse. The prefrontal cortex demonstrated a marked reduction in gray matter, and the amygdala showed increased activation in response to emotional facial expressions. Cognitive deficits as a result of earlylife stress were also discussed, showing that worse intellectual ability and the academic performance had been noted in children with exposure to early-life stress.

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