Urocortin 1 and 3 Impair Maternal Defense Behavior in Mice.

Lactating female mice fiercely defend offspring while exhibiting decreased fear and anxiety. Recent work (J. S. Lonstein & S. C. Gammie, 2002) found that intracerebroventricular (icv) injections of corticotropin releasing factor (CRF), a putative anxiogenic peptide, inhibit maternal defense behavior. This study examines effects of CRF-related peptides, urocortin (Ucn) 1 and Ucn 3, on maternal aggression in mice. Intracerebroventricular injections of both Ucn 1 (0.2 μg) and Ucn 3 (0.5 μg) reduced aggression but not pup retrieval. c-Fos levels were elevated by intracerebroventricular injections of Ucn 1 (0.2 μg) and Ucn 3 (0.5 μg) in 2 and 6 brain regions, respectively; however, both triggered increases in bed nucleus of the stria terminalis dorsal (BNSTd) and lateral septum (LS). These findings suggest that CRF-related peptides similarly modulate maternal aggression and that BNSTd/LS may be critical sites for negative regulation of maternal aggression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Tract‐tracing study of the extrabulbar Olfactory projections in the brain of some teleosts

The extrabulbar olfactory projections (EBOP) is a collection of nerve fibers that originate from primary olfactory receptor neurons. These fibers penetrate into the brain, bypassing the olfactory bulbs (OBs). While the presence of an EBOP has been well established in teleosts, here we morphologically characterize the EBOP structure in four species each with a different morphological relationship of OB with the ventral telencephalic area. Tract‐tracing methods (carbocyanine DiI/DIA and biocytin) were used. FMRFamide immunoreactive nervus terminalis (NT) components were also visualized to define any neuroanatomical relationship between the NT and EBOP. Unilateral DiI/DiA application to the olfactory chamber stained the entire olfactory epithelium, olfactory nerve fibers, and ipsilateral olfactory bulb. Labeled primary olfactory fibers running ventromedially as extrabulbar primary olfactory projections reached various regions of the secondary prosencephalon. Only in Moenkhausia sanctaefilomenae (no olfactory peduncle) did lipophilic tracer‐labeled fibers reach the ipsilateral mesencephalon. The combination of tracing techniques and FMRFamide immunohistochemistry revealed a substantial overlap of the label along the olfactory pathways as well as in the anterior secondary prosencephalon. However, FMRFamide immunoreactivity was never colocalized in the same cellular or fiber component as visualized using tracer molecules. Our results showed a certain uniformity in the neuroanatomy and extension of EBOP in all four species, independent of the pedunculate feature of the OBs. The present study also provided additional evidence to support the view that EBOP and FMRFamide immunoreactive components of the NT are separate anatomical entities. Microsc. Res. Tech. 78:268–276, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis is critically involved in enhancing associative learning after stressful experience.

Exposure to an acute stressful event enhances trace eyeblink conditioning in male rats, even when rats begin training days after the stressor (Shors, 2001). The authors examined whether the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), an area involved in stress and anxiety, is critically involved in this effect and, if so, when. The authors found that excitotoxic lesions to the BNST prevented the enhanced conditioning after stressor exposure. In addition, temporary inactivation of the BNST during the stressor did not alter enhanced responding, whereas inactivation during training prevented the enhancement. These data indicate that stressful experience induces persistent changes in the BNST that are necessary for enhancing learning well after the stressful event has ceased. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

加工前净化处理对团头鲂肌肉品质的影响

采用循环水净化装置净化处理团头鲂（Megalobrama amblycephala）,研究净化时间（0～10 d）对团头鲂肌肉品质的影响。结果表明：净化处理对团头鲂肌肉的理化成分、风味、质构及感官品质均有显著影响;随着净化时间延长,团头鲂肌肉的粗脂肪含量、总糖含量、水溶性蛋白含量、总挥发性盐基态氮（total volatile base nitrogen,TVB-N）含量、羰基值（carbonyl value,COV）和硫代巴比妥酸（thiobarbituric acid,TBA）值明显下降,游离氨基酸含量和灰分含量显著增加（P＜0.05）;质构、电子鼻及感官评价结果表明,净化处理可显著增加鱼肉的弹性、咀嚼性和甜味,降低其腥味及异味;净化处理8 d的团头鲂肌肉TVB-N含量、COV和TBA值分别比对照组（未净化处理）样品降低12.73%、20.35%和35.13%,鱼肉中的游离氨基酸含量则比对照组样品提高43.83%。综上所述,在加工前对团头鲂净化处理8 d可显著改善鱼肉的食用品质。     

风干武昌鱼中乳酸菌的分离鉴定及发酵性能研究

为获得具备优良性能的乳酸菌发酵剂,以我国极具特色的发酵肉制品—风干武昌鱼为基础原料,对传统风干武昌鱼在自然发酵过程中不同时期的乳酸菌进行分离鉴定与发酵性能测定。研究通过平板分离、菌落与菌体形态观察、糖醇发酵试验及生理生化试验鉴定所分离乳酸菌。结果表明所分离乳酸菌分属于7个种属:嗜盐四联球菌(Tetragenococcus halophilus)、弯曲乳杆菌(Lactobacillus curvatus)、乳酸乳球菌乳酸亚种(Lactococcus lactis subsp.lactis)、冷明串珠球菌(Leuconostoc gelidum)、格氏乳杆菌(Lactobacillus gasseri)、詹氏乳杆菌(Lactobacillus jensenii)和嗜淀粉乳杆菌(Lactobacillus amylohilus)。进一步采用产酸能力、食盐耐受性、亚硝酸盐耐受性、生长温度以及蛋白质和脂肪降解能力等试验测定菌株发酵性能,最终优化结果表明乳酸乳球菌乳酸亚种具备优良乳酸菌发酵剂的性能。     

An investigation of the effects of maternal separation and novelty on central mechanisms mediating pituitary-adrenal activity in infant guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus).

In mammalian species in which the young exhibit a strong filial attachment (e.g., monkeys, guinea pigs), numerous studies have shown that even brief separation from the attachment figure potently elevates circulating concentrations of glucocorticoids and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). However, effects of separation on central regulation of this stress response are not known. Therefore, we investigated central mechanisms mediating pituitary-adrenal activation during maternal separation and novelty exposure in guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) pups. Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) mRNA expression in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN), and plasma cortisol and ACTH levels, were elevated only during separation in a novel environment. C-Fos activity was elevated in the medial amygdala (MeA) and reduced in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) during novelty exposure, regardless of separation. On the other hand, c-Fos activity was elevated in the PVN during separation, regardless of novelty exposure. These results demonstrate independent and combined effects of separation and novelty in regions of the guinea pig CNS that regulate pituitary-adrenal activity. Moreover, they suggest that a pathway from MeA to BNST to PVN mediates responses to novelty in the guinea pig pup, as in the adult rat, though inputs from other cell populations appear required to fully account for the HPA activity observed here. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of bed nucleus of the stria terminalis lesions on conditioned anxiety: Aversive conditioning with long-duration conditional stimuli and reinstatement of extinguished fear.

Four experiments investigated the effects of lesions of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) on conditioned fear and anxiety. Though BNST lesions did not disrupt fear conditioning with a short-duration conditional stimulus (CS; Experiments 1 and 3), the lesion attenuated conditioning with a longer duration CS (Experiments 1 and 2). Experiment 3 found that lesions attenuated reinstatement of extinguished fear, which relies on contextual conditioning. Experiment 4 confirmed that the lesion reduced unconditioned anxiety in an elevated zero maze. The authors suggest that long-duration CSs, whether explicit cues or contexts, evoke anxiety conditioned responses, which are dissociable from fear responses to shorter CSs. Results are consistent with behavioral and anatomical distinctions between fear and anxiety and with a behavior-systems view of defensive conditioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Histamine H? receptors mediate morphine-induced locomotor hyperactivity of the C57BL/6J mouse": Correction to Mickley.

Reports an error in "Histamine H? receptors mediate morphine-induced locomotor hyperactivity of the C57BL/6J mouse" by G. Andrew Mickley (Behavioral Neuroscience, 1986[Feb], Vol 100[1], 79-84). An incorrect word was inadvertently printed. The last sentence of the introduction (p. 79) should read "This was accomplished by challenging the opiate-stimulated locomotion of the C57BL/6J mouse with injections of antihistamines into the nucleus accumbens/stria terminalis or lateral ventricles." (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 1986-14026-001.) Locomotor hyperactivity induced in C57BL/6J male mice (N=43) by intraperitoneal morphine sulfate (30 mg/kg) was challenged with intracranial injections of antihistamines or the opiate antagonist naloxone HCl (2 μg). When 75 μg of cimetidine, an H? receptor blocker, was injected into the nucleus accumbens/stria terminalis, it significantly reduced opiate-stimulated locomotion. However, ventricular injections of cimetidine did not significantly alter hyperactivity induced by either morphine or dextroamphetamine sulfate (4 mg/kg), nor did cimetidine depress spontaneous locomotion. Although naloxone eliminated morphine-induced locomotion when injected into either the nucleus accumbens or the ventricles, chlorpheniramine (20 μg), an H? receptor blocker, failed to reduce this behavior. Data suggest that opiate-stimulated locomotion of the C57BL/6J mouse may be partially mediated by histamine H? receptors of the nucleus accumbens or closely adjacent structures. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)