High-functioning children with autism were compared with two control groups on measures of anxiety and social worries. Comparison control groups consisted of children with specific language impairment (SLI) and normally developing children. Each group consisted of 15 children between the ages of 8 and 12 years and were matched for age and gender. Children with autism were found to be most anxious on both measures. High anxiety subscale scores for the autism group were separation anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. These findings are discussed within the context of theories of autism and anxiety in the general population of children. Suggestions for future research are made.

Anxiety in high functioning children with autism

A method of identifying microorganisms with reduced adaptability to a particular environment, wherein (1) each microorganism is independent by insertional inactivation of a gene with a nucleic acid comprising a unique marker sequence. Mutating to provide a plurality of microorganisms, or clones of said microorganisms, such that each mutation has a different label sequence; (2) providing storage samples of each mutation produced by step (1), respectively, and providing storage nucleic acids each comprising a unique label sequence from each mutation; (3) introducing a plurality of mutations produced by step (1) into the specific environment such that the microorganisms capable of growing in the specific environment grow in the above environment; (4) recovering the microorganisms or selected portions thereof from the environment and separating nucleic acids from the recovered microorganisms; (5) comparing all label sequences in the nucleic acid isolated in step (4) with the unique label sequences of each of the stored mutations as in step (2); and (6) any label isolated in step (4). Screening for individual mutations that also do not have a sequence.

Identification of genes

Major depressive disorder is a common, complex, and potentially life-threatening mental disorder that imposes a severe social and economic burden worldwide. Over the years, numerous animal models have been established to elucidate pathophysiology that underlies depression and to test novel antidepressant treatment strategies. Despite these substantial efforts, the animal models available currently are of limited utility for these purposes, probably because none of the models mimics this complex disorder fully. It is presumable that psychiatric illnesses, such as affective disorders, are related to the complexity of the human brain. Here, we summarize the animal models that are used most commonly for depression, and discuss their advantages and limitations. We discuss genetic models, including the recently developed optogenetic tools and the stress models, such as the social stress, chronic mild stress, learned helplessness, and early-life stress paradigms. Moreover, we summarize briefly the olfactory bulbectomy model, as well as models that are based on pharmacological manipulations and disruption of the circadian rhythm. Finally, we highlight common misinterpretations and often-neglected important issues in this field.

Animal models of major depression and their clinical implications.

Натрийуретические пептиды (НУП) являются важными биомаркерами в диагностике и определении прогноза у пациентов с сердечной недостаточностью (СН). Оценка динамики концентрации НУП (BNP, Nt -proBNP) может быть использована в качестве критерия успешности проводимой терапии. так, при достижении целевых уровней НУП можно прогнозировать благоприятный исход заболевания. В настоящее время лечение СН с учетом уровней НУП является частью рекомендаций по лечению СН (класс IIа) и улучшению ее исхода (класс IIб) в США, однако такой подход не используется в российских клиниках. Цель. Представить современный взгляд на возможность использования НУП для оценки эффективности проводимой терапии пациентов с СН. Ключевые слова: натрийуретические пептиды, сердечная недостаточность, оценка эффективности терапии.

Федеральное государственное бюджетное учреждение «Научно-исследовательский институт комплексных проблем сердечно-сосудистых заболеваний» Сибирского отделения Российской академии медицинских наук, Кемерово, Россия

Effects of Striatal ΔFosB Overexpression and Ketamine on Social Defeat Stress–Induced Anhedonia in Mice

The hippocampus is known as the brain region implicated in visuospatial processes and processes associated with learning and short- and long-term memory. An important functional characteristic of the hippocampus is lifelong neurogenesis. A decrease or increase in adult hippocampal neurogenesis is associated with a wide range of neurological diseases. We have previously shown that in adult male mice with a chronic positive fighting experience in daily agonistic interactions, there is an increase in the proliferation of progenitor neurons and the production of young neurons in the dentate gyrus (in hippocampus), and these neurogenesis parameters remain modified during 2 weeks of deprivation of further fights. The aim of the present work was to identify hippocampal genes associated with neurogenesis and involved in the formation of behavioral features in mice with the chronic experience of wins in aggressive confrontations, as well as during the subsequent 2-week deprivation of agonistic interactions. Hippocampal gene expression profiles were compared among three groups of adult male mice: chronically winning for 20 days in the agonistic interactions, chronically victorious for 20 days followed by the 2-week deprivation of fights, and intact (control) mice. Neurogenesis-associated genes were identified whose transcription levels changed during the social confrontations and in the subsequent period of deprivation of fights. In the experimental males, some of these genes are associated with behavioral traits, including abnormal aggression-related behavior, an abnormal anxiety-related response, and others. Two genes encoding transcription factors (Nr1d1 and Fmr1) were likely to contribute the most to the between-group differences. It can be concluded that the chronic experience of wins in agonistic interactions alters hippocampal levels of transcription of multiple genes in adult male mice. The transcriptome changes get reversed only partially after the 2-week period of deprivation of fights. The identified differentially expressed genes associated with neurogenesis and involved in the control of a behavior/neurological phenotype can be used in further studies to identify targets for therapeutic correction of the neurological disturbances that develop in winners under the conditions of chronic social confrontations.

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Effects of Positive Fighting Experience and Its Subsequent Deprivation on the Expression Profile of Mouse Hippocampal Genes Associated with Neurogenesis

D. A. Smagin

Papers

Effects of Positive Fighting Experience and Its Subsequent Deprivation on the Expression Profile of Mouse Hippocampal Genes Associated with Neurogenesis