Exposure to aluminum chloride (AlCl3) induces progressive multiregional neurodegeneration in animal models by promoting oxidative stress and neuroinflammation. The current study was designed to ...assess the potential efficacy of the natural antioxidants celastrol and thymoquinone (TQ) for alleviating AlCl3-induced psychomotor abnormalities and oxidative-inflammatory burden in male albino rats. Four treatment groups were compared: (i) a vehicle control group, (ii) a AlCL3 group receiving daily intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of AlCl3 (10 mg/kg) for 6 weeks, (iii) a AlCl3 plus TQ (10 mg/kg, i.p.) cotreatment group, and (iv) a AlCl3 plus celastrol (1 mg/kg, i.p.) cotreatment group. Open-field, rotarod, and forced swimming tests were conducted to assess locomotor activity, motor coordination, anxiety-like behavior, and depressive-like behavior. Acetylcholine (ACh), dopamine, and serotonin levels were measured in brain homogenates. Malondialdehyde (MDA), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and catalase activity were measured as oxidative stress markers, while tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interlukin-6 (IL-6) expression levels were measured as inflammatory markers. Brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) mRNA was measured as an index for the endogenous neuroprotective response. Daily AlCl3 injection reduced free ambulation, impaired motor coordination, promoted anxiety- and depression-like behaviors, reduced whole-brain ACh, dopamine, and serotonin concentrations, increased MDA accumulation, reduced TAC, elevated TNF-α and IL-6, and suppressed BDNF mRNA expression. All of these effects were significantly reversed by TQ or celastrol cotreatment. Thus, TQ and celastrol may be promising treatments for AlCl3-induced neurotoxicity as well as neurodegenerative diseases involving oxidative stress and neuroinflammation.
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•AlCl3 produces psychomotor disturbances and muscle incoordination in male rats.•AlCl3 reduces brain neurotransmitters (Acetylcholine, dopamine and serotonin).•AlCl3 increases brain oxido-inflammatory burden and reduces expression of BDNF.•Thymoquinone ameliorated the behaviors, BDNF expression and biochemical deficits.•Celastrol improved the behaviors and downregulated the oxido-inflammatory burden.
Introduction: Psychomotricity has taken on an important role in the educational field, since motor development is closely related to learning (Berruezo & Adelantado, 2000). A good internalization ...corporal scheme will allow an adequate construction of later development milestones and the improvement of an emotional and personal balance (Cremades, 2015). This study aims to demonstrate that Bernard Aucouturier's (2004) Psychomotor Practice methodology allows an improvement in motor development backwardness in 4-year-old children. METHOD: A quasi-experimental intervention was carried out with a pre-test phase, an intervention phase and a post-test phase with a group of 18 children of 4-year-old. For this, qualitative and quantitative instruments were used: qualitative pre-assessment (Hernández, 2015), Preschool Psychomotricity Assessment Scale (De la Cruz & Mazaira, 1998) (quantitative) and field notebook (qualitative), used by researchers. RESULTS: the Experienced Psychomotricity model seeks a significant improvement in motor development in the analyzed sample, especially in balance, arm and leg coordination, and body schema (in themselves and with respect to others). DISCUSSION: the improvements obtained in motor development converge with the affective and attitudinal improvements that we have observed individually in children, favoring and impregnating the rest of the group.
Introducción: La psicomotricidad ha tomado un papel relevante en el ámbito educativo, pues el desarrollo motor está estrechamente relacionado con el aprendizaje (Berruezo y Adelantado, 2000). Una buena interiorización del esquema corporal permitirá una adecuada construcción de hitos posteriores del desarrollo y la mejora de un equilibrio emocional y personal (Cremades, 2015). Este estudio pretende demostrar que la metodología de Psicomotricidad Vivenciada de Bernard Aucouturier (2004), permite una mejora del retraso madurativo motor en niños de 4 años. MÉTODO: se realizó una intervención cuasi experimental con una fase de pretest, fase de intervención y fase postest con un grupo de 18 niños de 4 años de edad. Para ello, se utilizaron varios instrumentos de carácter cualitativo y cuantitativo: pre-evaluación cualitativa (Hernández, 2015), Escala de Evaluación de la Psicomotricidad en Preescolar (De la Cruz y Mazaira, 1998) (cuantitativa) y cuaderno de campo (cualitativo), utilizado por los investigadores. RESULTADOS: el modelo de Psicomotricidad Vivenciada procura una mejora significativa del desarrollo motor en la muestra analizada, sobre todo, en el equilibrio, la coordinación de brazos y piernas y el esquema corporal (en sí mismos y respecto a los demás). DISCUSIÓN: las mejoras obtenidas en el desarrollo motor convergen con las mejoras afectivas y actitudinales que hemos observado de manera individual en los niños, favoreciendo e impregnando al resto del grupo.
•Newly diagnosed patients with bipolar disorder do not show reduced HRV.•Psychomotor retardation not seen in newly diagnosed patients with bipolar disorder.•Unaffected genetically predisposed ...relatives do not show reduced HRV or activity.
Heart rate variability (HRV) and psychomotor activity have been found reduced in bipolar disorder (BD) but has never been investigated in newly diagnosed BD and unaffected relatives. The present study aimed to compare HRV and psychomotor activity between newly diagnosed patients with BD, their unaffected first-degree relatives (UR), and healthy control individuals (HC).
20 newly diagnosed patients with BD, 20 of their UR, and 20 age- and sex-matched HC were included. Measurements of HRV for five minutes and heart rate and acceleration for seven days were conducted. Activity energy expenditure (AEE) was derived from the latter. Linear mixed effect regression models were conducted to compare the three groups.
HRV did not differ in any measure between the three groups of participants. Similarly, AEE (kJ/day/kg) did not differ between the three groups in neither daily means (BD: 63.6, UR: 64.1, HC: 62.1) nor when divided into quarter-daily intervals.
The relatively small size of the study may affect the validity of the results.
Patients with newly diagnosed BD and UR do not present with decreased HRV or AEE. These results contrast prior findings from BD patients with more advanced stages of the disorder, suggesting that these outcomes progress with illness duration.
The article analyzes one of the main problems of physical rehabilitation of children with psychomotor disorders – the problem of motivation in corrective motor activity. This determined the aim – to ...determine the main directions of the motivational sphere formation in the process of correctional play activity of children with psychomotor disorders.
The following research methods were used: the method of analysis, which made it possible to identify the main characteristics and types of motivational support of children for various types of activity; the method of pedagogical observations and the method of synthesis revealed the powerful method of motivating – theatricalization of the correctional process using physical education.
The research results were expressed in the definition of the concepts: motive, motivational field, motivational impulse, which are the components of the concept of motivation, the variety of which is defined in four types.
There were made following conclusions:
The motivation of corrective motor-play activity is based on the unconscious influences of the unconscious, caused by the external use by the teacher of the corresponding children's fairy-tale archetypes and the emotional experiences, caused by them.
One of the main methods of increasing motivation is the use of the possibilities of pedagogical "drama" in the form of a method of dosed dramatization of the motor-game plot of a remedial lesson, which should be considered as a physical culture fairy tale.
For the implementation of effective dramatic motivation, it is necessary to provide points of dramatization of different influence strength.
•The effect of α-MSH on psychomotor activity was examined in goldfish.•ICV administration of α-MSH enhanced thigmotaxis.•ICV administration of α-MSH induced anxiety-like behavior.
...α-Melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) is a body pigmentation-regulating hormone secreted from the intermediate lobe of the pituitary in vertebrates. It is also produced in the brain, and acts as an anorexigenic neuropeptide involved in feeding regulation. In rodents, intracerebroventricular (ICV) administration of α-MSH has been shown to affect not only feeding behavior, but also psychomotor activity. However, there is still no information regarding the psychophysiological effects of α-MSH on behavior in fish. Therefore, we examined the effect of synthetic α-MSH on psychomotor activity in goldfish. Since this species prefers the edge to the central area of a tank, we used this as a preference test for assessing psychomotor activity. When α-MSH was administered ICV at 1 and 10 pmol g−1 body weight (BW), the time spent in the edge area of a tank was prolonged at 10 pmol g−1 BW. However, α-MSH at these doses did not affect locomotor activity. The action of α-MSH mimicked those of FG-7142 (a central-type benzodiazepine receptor (CBR) inverse agonist with an anxiogenic effect) at 10 pmol g−1 BW and melanotan II (a melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R) agonist) at 50 pmol g−1 BW, whereas ICV administration of tofisopam (a CBR agonist with an anxiolytic effect) at 10 pmol g−1 BW prolonged the time spent in the central area. The anxiogenic-like effect of α-MSH was abolished by treatment with the MC4R antagonist HS024 at 50 pmol g−1 BW. These data indicate that α-MSH affects psychomotor activity in goldfish, and exerts an anxiogenic-like effect via the MC4R-signaling pathway.
The function of striatal adenosine A(2A) receptors (A(2A)Rs) is well recognized because of their high expression levels and the documented antagonistic interaction between A(2A)Rs and dopamine D(2) ...receptors in the striatum. However, the role of extrastriatal A(2A)Rs in modulating psychomotor activity is largely unexplored because of the low level of expression and lack of tools to distinguish A(2A)Rs in intrinsic striatal versus nonstriatal neurons. Here, we provided direct evidence for the critical role of A(2A)Rs in extrastriatal neurons in modulating psychomotor behavior using newly developed striatum-specific A(2A)R knock-out (st-A(2A)R KO) mice in comparison with forebrain-specific A(2A)R KO (fb-A(2A)R KO) mice. In contrast to fb-A(2A)R KO (deleting A(2A)Rs in the neurons of striatum as well as cerebral cortex and hippocampus), st-A(2A)R KO mice exhibited Cre-mediated selective deletion of the A(2A)R gene, mRNA, and proteins in the neurons (but not astrocytes and microglial cells) of the striatum only. Strikingly, cocaine- and phencyclidine-induced psychomotor activities were enhanced in st-A(2A)R KO but attenuated in fb-A(2A)R KO mice. Furthermore, selective inactivation of the A(2A)Rs in extrastriatal cells by administering the A(2A)R antagonist KW6002 into st-A(2A)R KO mice attenuated cocaine effects, whereas KW6002 administration into wild-type mice enhanced cocaine effects. These results identify a critical role of A(2A)Rs in extrastriatal neurons in providing a prominent excitatory effect on psychomotor activity. These results indicate that A(2A)Rs in striatal and extrastriatal neurons exert an opposing modulation of psychostimulant effects and provide the first direct demonstration of a predominant facilitatory role of extrastriatal A(2A)Rs.
In recent years, 50-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations of laboratory rats have become increasingly important behavioral measures in research on emotion and motivation, since these calls may help to study ...appetitive subjective states, for example in relation to addiction. Among others, 50-kHz calls occur when rats experience or expect rewards, including drugs of abuse, and it is assumed that these calls depend on dopamine function, especially in the meso-limbic system. One established means to induce 50-kHz calls is to challenge rats with d-amphetamine, a psychomotor stimulant, which acts largely by boosting dopamine and noradrenaline function in the brain. In a 1st experiment, we studied whether another psycho-stimulatory amphetamine, namely the derivative 3,4-methylene-dioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, Ecstasy), could also enhance 50-kHz calls by using an activity box and testing conditions, which had previously been found to be appropriate in case of d-amphetamine. In support of previous work, we found that MDMA (2.5, 5, 10mg/kg, ip) dose-dependently increased locomotion and center time, together with decreases in rearing activity, but the drug did not elicit 50-kHz calls. Assuming that this lack of effect is due to the drug's substantial pro-serotonergic effects in the brain, which may inhibit 50-kHz calls, we performed a 2nd experiment where we tested the serotonin 5-HT1A receptor agonist 8-hydroxy-2-tetralin (8-OH-DPAT; 0.05, 0.5, 2.5mg/kg, ip). This drug dose-dependently stimulates serotonin autoreceptors and heteroreceptors, can act in a psycho-stimulatory way and can enhance dopamine function. In the activity box, 8-OH-DPAT increased locomotor activity (0.5, 2.5mg/kg) and decreased rearing (2.5mg/kg); that is, the drug seemed to share some psycho-stimulatory effects with MDMA. Unlike MDMA, 8-OH-DPAT enhanced 50-kHz calls in a dose-dependent way, namely only with the 0.5mg/kg dose. These results are discussed with respect to their possible neurochemical mechanisms, especially on 5-HT and dopamine in the brain.
► Behavioral activity and ultrasonic vocalization were tested in rats. ► The amphetamine derivative MDMA and the 5-HT1A agonist 8-OH-DPAT were tested. ► Both drugs led to dose-dependent behavioral activation. ► Unlike the prototypical d-amphetamine, MDMA did not lead to 50-kHz calls. ► The 5-HT1A agonist led to 50-kHz calls only at an intermediate dose (0.5mg/kg).
Abstract Measuring changes in psychomotor activity is a potential tool in the monitoring of the course of affective states in bipolar disorder. Previous studies have been cross-sectional and only ...some have used objective measures. The aim was to investigate state-related differences in objectively-measured psychomotor activity in bipolar disorder. During a 12 weeks study, repeated measurements of heart rate and movement monitoring over several days were collected during different affective states from 19 outpatients with bipolar disorder. Outcomes included activity energy expenditure (AEE) and trunk acceleration (ACC). Symptoms were clinically assessed using Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS-17) and Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS). Compared to patients in a euthymic state, patients in a manic state had significantly higher AEE. Compared to patients in a depressive state, patients in a manic state had significantly higher ACC and AEE. There was a significant diurnal variation in ACC and AEE between affective states. Finally, there was a significant correlation between the severity of manic symptoms and ACC and AEE, respectively. This first study measuring psychomotor activity during different affective states using a combined heart rate and movement sensor supports that psychomotor activity is a core symptom in bipolar disorder that is altered during affective states.
The purpose of the research is: to study the characteristics of disorders of psychomotor function and psycho-emotional state of patients with ischemic stroke according to the initial examination; to ...develop a method of physical rehabilitation of patients with ischemic stroke at the inpatient stage of rehabilitation, depending on the severity of psychomotor functions and features of the psycho-emotional state; to outline psychological essence of biomechanical laws which direct the disorders of the psychomotor function of a personality. Research methods. There were used the following psychological and pedagogical research methods: the analysis of literature sources, the method of psychological and pedagogical observation, psychological and pedagogical experiment. The results of the research. The methods of functional biomanagement with external feedback are proved to be fundamentally new and promising in physical rehabilitation, having been used with the aim of training physiological or retraining pathologically impaired functions. The empirical data is shown to be obtained corresponding to the goals and tasks of the movement restoration system in the case of various diseases and brain injuries. The strongest stimulator of movement is proved to be so called kinesthetic sense, to reproduce consciously performed movements. Kinesthetic sense is a mean that is a necessary prerequisite for the rehabilitation of patients with ischemic stroke. Conclusions. The psychological essence of biomechanical laws is defined in relation to the disorders of the psychomotor function of a person: 1) the rule of redistribution of functions of the affected limb; 2) the rule of functional copying of another person’s movements; 3) the rule of ensuring the optimum in psychomotor activity.
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