0000000000114034
AUTHOR
Sonia Martínez-sanchis
Effects of chronic administration with high doses of testosterone propionate on behavioral and physiological parameters in mice with differing basal aggressiveness
The effects of testosterone propionate, an anabolic-androgenic steroid, on the behavior displayed during a social encounter by gonadally intact male mice were investigated. Animals were distributed into three groups according to their attack latency in a pre-screening test (high-, moderate-, and low-attacking mice) and each group received weekly injections of 60 or 120 mg/kg of testosterone or sesame oil for 10 weeks. Behavioral tests were then carried out. Afterwards, organs were weighed and blood samples collected in order to obtain hormonal data. Treatment had a differential impact on attack in the three groups of animals. Only the high-attacking testosterone-treated mice showed lower to…
Diagnóstico en educación de los trastornos de espectro autista
En este artículo se exponen las conclusiones de consenso de diferentes guías de buenas prácticas nacionales e internacionales, como referente para la práctica profesional del diagnóstico de los TEA en educación. El proceso de diagnóstico incorporaría 5 fases: Recogida de información, análisis de la información, valoración de la información, propuesta de intervención desde la que se valida el proceso diagnóstico y evaluación del conjunto del proceso, incluyendo a todos los agentes implicados. Barreras en la organización así como políticas internas o externas pueden dificultar la aplicación de las recomendaciones de las buenas prácticas. Sería necesario profundizar en estos aspectos así como …
Quality of Life and Stressors in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease Depending on Treatment
AbstractThis study evaluated health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in a Spanish sample of chronic kidney disease patients (n= 90) undergoing different renal replacement therapies, considering the influence of treatment stressors, mood, anxiety and quality of sleep. While all patients had worse physical functioning than controls (p< .01), only those undergoing haemodialysis (HD) showed worse physical well-being, occupational functioning, spiritual fulfillment and more health interference with work (p< .05). They also obtained higher depression scores than renal transplant patients (TX) (p= .005). Those TX receiving the immunosuppressor sirolimus exhibited more cardiac/renal, cognitive…
Effects of immunosuppressive drugs on the cognitive functioning of renal transplant recipients: A pilot study
Some renal transplant patients show cognitive, emotional, and behavioral changes as part of possible neurotoxic effects associated with immunosuppressive medication, especially tacrolimus. This study evaluated effects of immunosuppressive drugs on some cognitive tasks. Patients treated with sirolimus and cyclosporine reported some of the noncognitive side effects related to immunosuppressive treatment. We observed attention and working memory impairment in patients treated with sirolimus or tacrolimus. Performance of cyclosporine-treated subjects was similar to that of healthy volunteer controls. Since the mood, anxiety, and sleep patterns measured were unaffected, it could be concluded tha…
Effects of competition and its outcome on serum testosterone, cortisol and prolactin.
In various species, competitive encounters influence hormonal responses in a different way depending on their outcome, victory or defeat. This study aimed to investigate the effects of sports competition and its outcome on hormonal response, comparing it with those displayed in situations involving non-effort and non-competitive effort. To this end, serum testosterone (T), cortisol (C) and prolactin (PRL) were measured in 26 judoists who participated in three sessions (control, judo fight and ergometry). The relationship between hormonal changes and psychological variables before and after the fight were also analysed. Our results showed a hormonal response to competition, which was especia…
Neurobiological foundations of multisensory processing integration in people with autism spectrum disorders: The role of the medial prefrontal cortex
This review aims to relate the sensory processing problems in people with Autism spectrum disorders (ASD), especially Multisensory interaction (MSI), to the role of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) by exploring neuroanatomical findings; brain connectivity and Default Network (DN); global or locally directed attention; and temporal multisensory binding. The mPFC is part of the brain’s DN, which is deactivated when attention is focused on a particular task and activated on rest when spontaneous cognition emerges. In those with ASD, it is hypoactive and the higher the social impairment the greater the atypical activity. With an immature DN, cross-modal integration is impaired, resulting in …
Training adults and children with an autism spectrum disorder to be compliant with a clinical dental assessment using a TEACCH-based approach
The specific neuropsychological and sensory profile found in persons with autism spectrum disorders complicate dental procedures and as a result of this, most are treated under general anesthesia or unnecessary sedation. The main goal of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a short treatment and education of autistic and related communication-handicapped children-based intervention program (five sessions) to facilitate a 10-component oral assessment in children (n = 38, aged 4¿9 years) and adults (n = 34, aged 19¿41) with autism spectrum disorder (with or without associated intellectual disability). The assessment ranges from entering into the examination room to the evalu…
Abnormal Linguistic Lateralization and Sensory Processing in High Functioning Children with Autism Spectrum Conditions
Brain lateralization for language in high-functioning children with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) and sensory processing were explored as a part of a neuropsychological profile. A dichotic listening test and the Luria laterality subtest were administered to all participants (including controls) and the sensory profile test only to the ASC group. The usual right ear advantage was not exhibited by children with ASC and anomalies in auditory filtering were found. The sensory profile of 60% of the sample was characterized by hypersensitivity to auditory stimuli, hyposensitivity to vestibular information, high emotional reactions to sensory experiences, poor psychosocial coping strategies, hi…
Lack of effects of anabolic-androgenic steroids on locomotor activity in intact male mice.
Anabolic-androgenic steroid abusers have reported hyperactivity euphoria, and decreased fatigue, among other behavioral effects. It has been suggested that the effects of these substances on the central nervous system are similar to those of psychostimulants; however, the influence of steroids on general locomotor activity in laboratory animals is not well understood, especially how noncastrated male rodents are affected. In this study, spontaneous locomotor activity displayed by gonadally intact male mice submitted to several experimental conditions was analyzed. Different housing conditions (individual or cohabiting with a female), diverse steroids (testosterone propionate, nandrolone de…
Rewarding Properties of Testosterone in Intact Male Mice
The present study examined the rewarding properties of 4-androsten-17β-ol-3-one testosterone in intact male mice using the conditioned place preference (CPP) technique. In Experiment 1, the pharmacokinetics of 0.8 and 1.2 mg/kg of testosterone were studied to determine the most appropriate temporal interval to test behavior. Additionally, the locomotor activity was recorded to control a possible interfering effect on CPP. The maximum testosterone concentration was registered at 45 min of administration, and no effects on activity were found. In Experiment 2, three groups of male OF-1 mice received four pairings of the least-preferred compartment with testosterone (0.8, 1, or 1.2 mg/kg, SC) …
Ansiedad y respuestas electrofisiológicas a una tarea de estrés mental tras un ejercicio aeróbico máximo
El objetivo del presente trabajo fue analizar las relaciones de la ansiedad con determinadas respuestas fisiológicas a una tarea de estrés mental. Para ello, se tomó una muestra de deportistas de élite varones de la Comunidad Valenciana de diferentes disciplinas deportivas. De acuerdo con las puntuaciones que los sujetos obtuvieron en las escalas STAI-R y STAI-E, completadas antes y después respectivamente, de una ergometría máxima, fueron separados en dos grupos extremos de alta y baja ansiedad. Se registraron de forma computerizada la frecuencia cardíaca y la actividad electrodérmica antes, durante y después de una tarea Stroop en ordenador. Los niveles basales de actividad electrodérmica…
Effects of chronic treatment with testosterone propionate on aggression and hormonal levels in intact male mice.
Effects of testosterone propionate, an anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS), on aggression in gonadally intact male mice were examined. Animals were given weekly injections of 3.75, 7.5, 15, and 30 mg/kg of drug or sesame oil for 10 weeks. During the last 3 weeks, behavioral tests were conducted and at the end of the experiment, body, liver and testes weight and hormonal data were collected. The treatment had minimal behavioral and endocrine effects. It resulted in shorter latencies of 'threat' only in the last agonistic encounter, increases in testosterone levels and decreases in testes weight in a non-linear dose-dependant way. The action of treatment was different on threat and attack, the …
Salivary Testosterone and Cortisol Responses to Cycle Ergometry in Basketball Players with Different Training Volume
Abstract This study analyzes the degree to which different amounts of training during a 4-month period affects salivary testosterone (Tsal), salivary cortisol (Csal) responses, and changes in the salivary testosterone/cortisol ratio (Tsal/Csal ratio) following acute physical effort. Two professional basketball teams with similar fitness levels carried out a maximal cycle ergometry at the beginning and in the middle of the sports season. In both sessions, saliva samples were collected to determine Tsal and Csal, and mood was assessed. Training was registered daily, total training volume being almost two-fold higher in Team 1 than in Team 2. No significant differences between the teams in an…
Oral manifestations in a group of adults with autism spectrum disorder
Objective: A number of studies have evaluated the oral health of patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), though most have involved children, and no specific oral manifestations have been described. The present study describes the buccodental disorders and hygiene habits in a group of adults with ASD. Study Design: A prospective case-control study was made of a group of patients with ASD (n=30), with a mean age of 27.7 +/- 5.69 years, and of a healthy age-and gender-matched control group (n=30). An evaluation was made of the medical history, medication, oral hygiene habits and oral diseases, with determination of the CAOD, CAOS and OHI-S oral hygiene scores. Results: Most of the patien…
Efficacy of Nonpharmacological Treatments on Comorbid Internalizing Symptoms of Adults With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Meta-Analytic Review.
Background: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is highly comorbid in adulthood. This meta-analysis was aimed at ascertaining the efficacy of different psychotherapies in improving comorbid internalizing symptoms in adults with ADHD. Method: Twenty randomized controlled trials and 12 uncontrolled pretest–posttest studies were included and combined using the inverse variance method. Risk of bias and heterogeneity assessment and moderator analyses were performed. Results: Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) improved quality of life (QoL), emotional dysregulation (ED), depression, and anxiety symptoms, particularly at follow-up, which was predicted by core symptoms reduction. A sig…
The GABAergic effect of low doses of lorazepam on social behavior
The aim of this work was to test the antiaggressive effects of lorazepam and to determine whether these effects were mediated by benzodiazepine receptors. In a first experiment, male mice were injected with lorazepam in a range of low doses (0.05, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.6 mg/kg) or saline solution. In a second experiment, 1 mg/kg of Ro 15-1788, a benzodiazepine receptor antagonist, and a saline solution were injected before the behavioral test. Results showed that 0.6 mg/kg of lorazepam was the only dose that decreased the total duration of threat ( P < .01) and social investigation ( P < .05) and that 1 mg/kg of Ro 15-1788 had no effects. In the third experiment, animals received two injec- tions…
Cocaine-induced locomotor activity is enhanced by exogenous testosterone
Anabolic-androgenic steroids are synthetic derivatives of testosterone, which are increasingly abused by adolescent populations who also abuse psychoactive substances. All these compounds lead to complex behavioral syndromes and the effects of their interactions remain unclear. The main aim of the present study was to determine the influence of testosterone on the locomotor activity-promoting effect of cocaine on male mice in an open field. In the three experiments, animals received two injections: firstly, testosterone or peanut oil, and secondly, cocaine or saline solution. In Experiments 1 and 2, testosterone (or oil) and cocaine (or saline) were injected 45 and 10 min, respectively, pri…
Psychophysiological responses to the Stroop Task after a maximal cycle ergometry in elite sportsmen and physically active subjects.
Physical fitness moderates the psychophysiological responses to stress. This study attempts to determine whether the degree of fitness could affect the response to physical and psychological stress after comparing two groups of men with good physical fitness. Saliva samples from 18 elite sportsmen, and 11 physically active subjects were collected to determine hormonal levels after carrying out a maximal cycle ergometry. Heart rate and skin conductance level were continuously recorded before, during, and after a modified version of the Stroop Color-Word Task. With similar scores in trait anxiety and mood, elite sportsmen had lower basal salivary testosterone, testosterone/cortisol ratio, and…
Correlating testosterone and fighting in male participants in judo contests
The role of hormones in human aggression is open to debate, but takes on a new urgency owing to the alarming abuse of androgenic anabolic steroids by some sports participants. In this study, video-taped behavior exhibited by 28 male competitors during a judo fight was assessed to analyze its relation to serum testosterone and cortisol levels measured before and after the bouts. A positive relation between testosterone and offensive behaviors was obtained in the sense that the greater the hormonal titer, the greater the number of threats, fights, and attacks. These findings coincide with the pattern of relationships found using observational scales. Conversely, cortisol also presented positi…
Long-Term Efficacy of Psychosocial Treatments for Adults With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Meta-Analytic Review
Background: Recent evidence suggests that psychosocial treatments, particularly cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), are effective interventions for adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The objective of this review was to determine the long-term efficacy of psychosocial interventions in improving clinically relevant variables, including ADHD core symptoms, clinical global impression (CGI), and global functioning. Methods: In total, nine randomized controlled trials and three uncontrolled single-group pretest-posttest studies were included. The data from these studies were combined using the inverse variance method. Heterogeneity and risk of bias were assessed. Subgroup anal…
Similar rewarding effects of testosterone in mice rated as short and long attack latency individuals.
An attempt was made to confirm and extend the findings of an earlier study on the rewarding properties of testosterone in male mice using conditioned place preference (CPP). Previous results had only partially demonstrated such an effect because the reinforcement depended on environmental cues such as the colour of the compartment. High individual variability was evident, suggesting that basal levels of aggressiveness may modulate such effects. Animals were pre-screened for aggressive behaviour and allocated to short and long attack latency (SAL and LAL) categories. Five days later the CPP procedure started. This involved pre-conditioning tests, conditioning and post-conditioning tests. SAL…