Efeito da amostragem de informação visual no comportamento locomotor adaptativo de pacientes com doença de Parkinson idiopática

Pouco se sabe a respeito da marcha de pacientes com doença de Parkinson (DP) em ambientes irregulares. Mais especificamente, não foram encontrados estudos que manipularam a informação visual na tarefa de ultrapassar obstáculo. Assim, o objetivo deste estudo foi analisar o papel da visão no comportamento locomotor durante a ultrapassagem de obstáculos de diferentes alturas em indivíduos com DP idiopática, manipulando experimentalmente a disponibilidade das informações visuais. Participaram 14 idosos com DP, classificados entre os estágios 1 e 2,5 da escala de Hoehn & Yahr. Os participantes foram convidados a percorrer andando uma passarela de 8 metros, em condições sem obstáculo (SO) e com obstáculo baixo (OB) ou alto (OA). As tentativas foram apresentadas combinando condições de obstáculo (SO, OB e OA) e de visão (IVD e IVE), em 3 tentativas por condição, totalizando 18 tentativas; realizadas em 2 blocos. A manipulação de informação visual foi realizada através do uso de óculos de lentes de cristal líquido e a análise cinemática foi realizada tridimensionalmente. As variáveis dependentes selecionadas incluíram os parâmetros espaciais e temporais das fases de aproximação e ultrapassagem do obstáculo. Para o tratamento dos dados, foram empregadas duas MANOVAs. Os resultados revelaram que tanto a manipulação visual como a manipulação do terreno influenciaram no comportamento locomotor dos pacientes. Na fase de aproximação, a presença do obstáculo provocou modificações nos parâmetros locomotores, refletindo em menores valores médios de comprimento e velocidade da passada nas condições OB e OA do que na condição SO. Em relação à informação visual nesta mesma fase, a anulação do fluxo óptico provocou diminuição do comprimento e da velocidade da passada, da cadência e da porcentagem da fase de suporte simples e aumento da duração... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo)

Comportamento locomotor, quadro clínico, incidência de quedas e nível de atividade física em pacientes com doença de Parkinson: um estudo longitudinal de dois anos

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Environmental enrichment blocks ethanol-induced locomotor sensitization and decreases BDNF levels in the prefrontal cortex in mice

The use of addictive drugs can lead to long-term neuroplastic changes in the brain, including behavioral sensitization, a phenomenon related to addiction. Environmental enrichment (EE) is a strategy used to study the effect of environment on the response to several manipulations, including treatment with addictive drugs. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been associated with behaviors related to ethanol addiction. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of EE on ethanol-induced behavioral sensitization and BDNF expression. Mice were exposed to EE and then repeatedly treated with a low dose (1.8 g/kg) of ethanol. Another group of mice was first subjected to repeated ethanol treatment according to the behavioral sensitization protocol and then exposed to EE. Environmental enrichment prevented the development of ethanol-induced behavioral sensitization and blocked behavioral sensitization in sensitized mice. Both repeated ethanol and EE decreased BDNF levels in the prefrontal cortex but not in the hippocampus. However, BDNF levels were lower in ethanol-treated mice exposed to EE. These findings suggest that EE can act on the mechanisms implicated in behavioral sensitization, a model for drug-induced neuroplasticity and relapse. Additionally, EE alters BDNF levels, which regulate addiction-related behaviors.

Maternal immune activation in late gestation enhances locomotor response to acute but not chronic amphetamine treatment in male mice offspring: Role of the D1 receptor

Exposure to elevated levels of maternal cytokines can lead to functional abnormalities of the dopaminergic system in the adult offspring, including enhanced amphetamine (AMPH)-induced locomotion. Therefore, it seems reasonable to consider that offspring of challenged mothers would behave differently in models of addictive behavior, such as behavioral sensitization. Thus, we sought to evaluate the effects of prenatal exposure to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on the locomotor response to acute and chronic AMPH treatment in male mice offspring. For this purpose, LPS (Escherichia coli 0127:B8; 120 mu g/kg) was administered intraperitoneally to pregnant Swiss mice on gestational day 17. At adulthood, male offspring were studied under one of the following conditions: (1) locomotor response to acute AMPH treatment (2.5 or 5.0 mg/kg) in an open field test; (2) behavioral sensitization paradigm, which consists of a daily injection of AMPH (1.0 mg/kg) for 10 days and observation of locomotion in the open field on days 1, 5, 10 (development phase), 15 and 17 (expression phase). The LPS stimulated offspring showed enhancement of the locomotor-stimulant effect after an acute AMPH challenge in comparison to baseline and saline pre-treated mice. They also showed development of behavioral sensitization earlier than the saline pre-treated group, although no changes between saline and LPS pre-treated groups were observed on development or expression of locomotor behavioral sensitization to AMPH. Furthermore, there was up-regulation of D1 receptor protein level within striatum in the LPS-stimulated offspring which was strongly correlated with increased grooming behavior. Taken together, our results indicate that motor and dopaminergic alterations caused by maternal immune activation are restricted to the acute AMPH challenge, mostly due to up-regulation of the D1 receptor within the mesolimbic and nigrostriatal pathways, but no locomotor differences were observed for behavioral sensitization to AMPH. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Evolution of form and function: morphophysiological relationships and locomotor performance in tropidurine lizards

Locomotor capacity is often considered an excellent measure of whole animal performance because it requires the integrated functioning of many morphological, physiological (and biochemical) traits. However, because studies tend to focus on either structural or functional suits of traits, we know little on whether and how morphological and physiological traits coevolve to produce adequate locomotor capacities. Hence, we investigate the evolutionary relationships between morphological and physiological parameters related to exercise physiology, using tropidurine lizards as a model. We employ a phylogenetic principal component analysis (PCA) to identify variable clusters (factors) related to morphology, energetic metabolism and muscle metabolism, and then analyze the relationships between these clusters and measures of locomotor performance, using two models (star and hierarchical phylogenies). Our data indicate that sprint performance is enhanced by simultaneous evolutionary tendencies affecting relative limb and tail size and physiological traits. Specifically, the high absolute sprint speeds exhibited by tropidurines from the sand dunes are explained by longer limbs, feet and tails and an increased proportion of glycolytic fibers in the leg muscle, contrasting with their lower capacity for overall oxidative metabolism [principal component (PC1)]. However, when sprint speeds are corrected for body size, performance correlates with a cluster (PC3) composed by moderate loads for activity metabolic rate and body size. The simultaneous measurement of morphological and physiological parameters is a powerful tool for exploring patterns of coadaptation and proposing morphophysiological associations that are not directly predictable from theory. This approach may trigger novel directions for investigating the evolution of form and function, particularly in the context of organismal performance.

Infección del sitio quirúrgico en intervenciones del aparato locomotor

Programa de doctorado: Avances en Traumatología, Medicina del Deporte y Cuidados de Heridas