In: Psychopharmacology, 2015, vol. 232, no. 12, p. 2097–2112
Despite the evidence for altered decision making in cannabis abusers, the role of the cannabinoid system in decision-making circuits has not been studied. Here, we examined the effects of cannabinoid modulation during cost-benefit decision making in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), key brain areas involved in decision making. We trained different groups of...
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In: Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, 2013, vol. 7, p. 170
Elimination of sensory inputs (deprivation) modifies the properties of the sensory cortex and serves as a model for studying plasticity during postnatal development. Many studies on the effects of deprivation have been performed in the visual cortex using dark-rearing as a visual deprivation model. It induces changes in all cellular and molecular components, including astrocytes, which play an...
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In: Behavioural Brain Research, 2013, vol. 246, p. 36–46
The role of VEGF in the nervous system is extensive; apart from its angiogenic effect, VEGF has been described as a neuroprotective, neurotrophic and neurogenic molecule. Similar effects have been described for enriched environment (EE). Moreover, both VEGF and EE have been related to improved spatial memory. Our aim was to investigate the neurovascular and cognitive effects of...
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In: Brain Research, 2012, vol. 1473, p. 141–154
VEGF is the major angiogenic and vascular permeability factor in health and disease. Vascular development depends on function, and in sensory areas is experience-dependent. Our aim was to investigate, qualitatively and quantitatively, the effects of intracortical infusion and neutralisation of VEGF during the first days of the critical visual period, when peak levels of endogenous VEGF secretion...
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In: Neural Plasticity, 2012, p. 305693
During postnatal development, sensory experience modulates cortical development, inducing numerous changes in all of the components of the cortex. Most of the cortical changes thus induced occur during the critical period, when the functional and structural properties of cortical neurons are particularly susceptible to alterations. Although the time course for experience-mediated sensory...
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In: Journal of Signal Transduction, 2012, p. 597915
The angiogenesis process is a key event for glioma survival, malignancy and growth. The start of angiogenesis is mediated by a cascade of intratumoural events: alteration of the microvasculature network; a hypoxic microenvironment; adaptation of neoplastic cells and synthesis of pro-angiogenic factors. Due to a chaotic blood flow, a consequence of an aberrant microvasculature, tissue hypoxia...
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In: Journal of Proteomics, 2012, vol. 75, no. 9, p. 2526–2535
Endogenous neuropeptides, acting as neurotransmitters or hormones in the brain, carry out important functions including neural plasticity, metabolism and angiogenesis. Previous neuropeptide studies have focused on peptide-rich brain regions such as the striatum or hypothalamus. Here we present an investigation of peptides in the visual system, composed of brain regions that are generally less...
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