Novelty facilitates the persistence of aversive memory extinction by dopamine regulation in the hippocampus and ventral tegmental area.

Aversive memory extinction comprises a novel learning that blocks retrieving a previously formed traumatic memory. In this sense, aversive memory extinction is an excellent tool for decreasing fear responses. However, this tool it's not effective in the long term because of original memory spontaneous recovery. Thus, searching for alternative strategies that strengthen extinction learning is essential. In the current study, we evaluated the effects of a novel context (i.e., novelty) exposure on aversive memory extinction enhancement over days and the dopaminergic system requirement. Given the purpose, experiments were conducted using 3-month-old male Wistar rats. Animals were trained in inhibitory avoidance (IA). Twenty-four hours later, rats were submitted to a weak extinction protocol. Still, 30 min before the first extinction session, animals were submitted to an exploration of a novel context for 5 min. After, memory retention and persistence were evaluated 24 h, 3, 7, 14, and 21 days later. The exposition of a novel context caused a decrease in aversive responses in all days analyzed and an increase in dopamine levels in the hippocampus. The intrahippocampal infusion of dopamine in the CA1 area or the stimulation of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) by a glutamatergic agonist (NMDA) showed similar effects of novelty. In contrast, VTA inhibition by a gabaergic agonist (muscimol) impaired the persistence of extinction learning induced by novelty exposition and caused a decrease in hippocampal dopamine levels. In summary, we show that novel context exposure promotes persistent aversive memory extinction, revealing the significant role of the dopaminergic system.

Report on the online course "Basic Concepts in Neurophysiology": a course promoted during the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine.

"Basic Concepts in Neurophysiology" was a 3-wk online course developed during six synchronous meetings combined with asynchronous activities. We proposed an active learning course that used free online platforms to teach physiology during a period in which undergraduates were not in classrooms or taking online classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Herein, we report the course organization and the students' involvement in, acceptance of, and evaluation of the course. To address the students' perceptions about these points, we sent a questionnaire to 49 participants who finished the course. We found that although most students (52.5%) had never taken a course with similar methods before, almost all of them (95%) liked the flipped class model. Additionally, a majority of the students (92.5%) said that the method increased their study frequency during the social distancing period, which is an important aspect to consider during this challenging time for both students and professors.

Relating human physiology content to COVID-19: a strategy to keep students in touch with physiology in times of social distance due to pandemic.

In 2020 universities had to quickly implement remote education alternatives as a result of the social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To keep students engaged with the university, we implemented a teaching-learning model that relates physiology contents to the COVID-19 pandemic using online educational platforms. A 1-mo web course was proposed for health sciences students from the Federal University of Pampa. It included synchronous meetings twice a week and asynchronous activities using scientific articles, case studies, and interactive online tools. The students approved the methodology developed, assessing it as dynamic and innovative. They reported that the activity helped to better understand the relations between COVID-19 and physiological systems. The web course also contributed to the identification of reliable sources of news and stimulated the sharing of scientific content with their families. We concluded that the use of online platforms contextualizing the physiology content considering current events helps students in learning human physiology and improves their abilities to apply this information to their daily life, in this specific case, regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Physical and cognitive training are able to prevent recognition memory deficits related to amyloid beta neurotoxicity.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the presence of amyloid-ß (Aß), oxidative damage and neuronal degeneration, which, together with other pathological events, promote progressive memory loss and cognitive decline. Non-pharmacological strategies have been study to provide some protection against the development of AD. Considering that physical exercise neuroprotective effects on prevention of cognitive deficits are well elucidate, it is important clarify the effects of cognitive training, and verify if they are similar or comparable to those observed for physical exercise. Here we divided male adult Wistar rats in six groups: control, which rats were not submitted to any intervention; Aß, which rats were submitted to hippocampal infusion of Aß; physical exercise (PE), which rats were submitted to 4 weeks of PE training; PE + Aß, which rats were submitted to 4 weeks of PE training followed by hippocampal infusion of Aß; cognitive exercise (CE), which rats were submitted to 4 weeks of CE training; and, CE + Aß, which rats were submitted to 4 weeks of CE training followed by hippocampal infusion of Aß. Ten days after Aß infusion, short (STM) and long-term (LTM) object recognition memory, as well as hippocampal oxidative stress (ROS levels by DCFH test), lipid peroxidation (TBARS), total antioxidant capacity (FRAP) and hippocampal histology were evaluated. Both PE and CE were effective in protect cognitive function against memory deficits related to Aß neurotoxicity, preventing oxidative stress and damage and hippocampal cellular disorganization. So, cognitive training seems to be as good as physical training in the prevention of memory deficits related to Aß and seems to share some mechanisms of actions, as oxidative stress prevention.

Facilitation of fear extinction by novelty depends on dopamine acting on D1-subtype dopamine receptors in hippocampus.

Extinction is the learned inhibition of retrieval. Recently it was shown that a brief exposure to a novel environment enhances the extinction of contextual fear in rats, an effect explainable by a synaptic tagging-and-capture process. Here we examine whether this also happens with the extinction of another fear-motivated task, inhibitory avoidance (IA), and whether it depends on dopamine acting on D1 or D5 receptors. Rats were trained first in IA and then in extinction of this task. The retention of extinction was measured 24 h later. A 5-min exposure to a novel environment 30 min before extinction training enhanced its retention. Right after exposure to the novelty, animals were given bilateral intrahippocampal infusions of vehicle (VEH), of the protein synthesis inhibitor anisomycin, of the D1/D5 dopaminergic antagonist SCH23390, of the PKA inhibitor Rp-cAMP or of the PKC inhibitor Gö6976, and of the PKA stimulator Sp-cAMP or of the PKC stimulator PMA. The novelty increased hippocampal dopamine levels and facilitated the extinction, which was inhibited by intrahippocampal protein synthesis inhibitor anisomysin, D1/D5 dopaminerdic antagonist SCH23390, or PKA inhibitor Rp-cAMP and unaffected by PKC inhibitor Gö6976; additionally, the hippocampal infusion of PKA stimulator Sp-cAMP reverts the effect of D1/D5 dopaminergic antagonist SCH 23390, but the infusion of PKC stimulator PMA does not. The results attest to the generality of the novelty effect on fear extinction, suggest that it relies on synaptic tagging and capture, and show that it depends on hippocampal dopamine D1 but not D5 receptors.

Conhecendo o Sistema Nervoso: Ações de Divulgação e Popularizaçãoda Neurociência Junto a Estudantes da Rede Pública de EducaçãoBásica / Knowing the Nervous System: Actions of Neuroscience Divulgation and Popularizationwith Students of Public Basic Education

Este estudo tem a finalidade de relatar uma prática proposta (Semana do Cérebro de Uruguaiana) com o intuito de contribuir com a popularização e divulgação da Neurociência junto à Educação Básica. Paralelamente à Semana Internacional do Cérebro (Brain Awareness Week) foram realizadas atividades voltadas para alunos da rede pública de Educação Básica. As atividades foram organizadas em seis etapas: (1) divulgação; (2) palestra explicativa sobre o funcionamento do Sistema Nervoso Central; (3) exposição de neuroanatomia; (4) demonstração prática de ações nervosas; (5) noções de pesquisa científica em neurociências; e (6) avaliação. Ao final verificou-se a opinião dos alunos quanto às atividades realizadas durante as diferentes etapas, 98,6% manifestaram ter interesse em aprender mais sobre o sistema nervoso, 85,2% relataram que as atividades propostas serviram para despertar seu interesse por pesquisa e ciência, e, ao avaliarem as ações de uma forma geral, atribuindo uma nota de 0 a 10, a nota atribuída foi de 9,4 ± 0,99. Desse modo, pode-se afirmar que a proposta foi bem aceita pelos alunos, sendo considerada válida e atingindo o objetivo de promover a divulgação e popularização da neurociência.

This study aimed to report a practice (Brain Awareness Week of Uruguaiana) that was proposed with the aim of contribute with the popularization and dissemination of Neuroscience in the Basic Education. Alongside the Brain Awareness Week we performed activities with students from public basic education. The activities were organized in six steps: (1) disclosure; (2) lecture explaining the functioning of the Central Nervous System; (3) neuroanatomy exposition; (4) practical demonstration of nerve actions; (5) notions of scientific research neuroscience; and (6) evaluation. At the end was verified the opinion of students about the activities carried in the different steps. 98.6% of students expressed interest in learning more about the nervous system. 85.2% reported that the activities proposed in our actions served to awaken their interest on research and science, and when evaluating the actions in general, with a score from 0 to 10, the assigned score was 9.4 ± 0.99. Thus, we can claim that our proposal was well accepted by the students and is considered valid and reaching the aim of promoting the dissemination and popularization of neuroscience.

Conhecendo o Sistema Nervoso: Ações de Divulgação e Popularizaçãoda Neurociência Junto a Estudantes da Rede Pública de EducaçãoBásica / Knowing the Nervous System: Actions of Neuroscience Divulgation and Popularizationwith Students of Public Basic Education

Este estudo tem a finalidade de relatar uma prática proposta (Semana do Cérebro de Uruguaiana) com o intuito de contribuir com a popularização e divulgação da Neurociência junto à Educação Básica. Paralelamente à Semana Internacional do Cérebro (Brain Awareness Week) foram realizadas atividades voltadas para alunos da rede pública de Educação Básica. As atividades foram organizadas em seis etapas: (1) divulgação; (2) palestra explicativa sobre o funcionamento do Sistema Nervoso Central; (3) exposição de neuroanatomia; (4) demonstração prática de ações nervosas; (5) noções de pesquisa científica em neurociências; e (6) avaliação. Ao final verificou-se a opinião dos alunos quanto às atividades realizadas durante as diferentes etapas, 98,6% manifestaram ter interesse em aprender mais sobre o sistema nervoso, 85,2% relataram que as atividades propostas serviram para despertar seu interesse por pesquisa e ciência, e, ao avaliarem as ações de uma forma geral, atribuindo uma nota de 0 a 10, a nota atribuída foi de 9,4 ± 0,99. Desse modo, pode-se afirmar que a proposta foi bem aceita pelos alunos, sendo considerada válida e atingindo o objetivo de promover a divulgação e popularização da neurociência.

This study aimed to report a practice (Brain Awareness Week of Uruguaiana) that was proposed with the aim of contribute with the popularization and dissemination of Neuroscience in the Basic Education. Alongside the Brain Awareness Week we performed activities with students from public basic education. The activities were organized in six steps: (1) disclosure; (2) lecture explaining the functioning of the Central Nervous System; (3) neuroanatomy exposition; (4) practical demonstration of nerve actions; (5) notions of scientific research neuroscience; and (6) evaluation. At the end was verified the opinion of students about the activities carried in the different steps. 98.6% of students expressed interest in learning more about the nervous system. 85.2% reported that the activities proposed in our actions served to awaken their interest on research and science, and when evaluating the actions in general, with a score from 0 to 10, the assigned score was 9.4 ± 0.99. Thus, we can claim that our proposal was well accepted by the students and is considered valid and reaching the aim of promoting the dissemination and popularization of neuroscience.

Conhecendo o Sistema Nervoso: Ações de Divulgação e Popularização da Neurociência Junto a Estudantes da Rede Pública de Educação Básica / Knowing the Nervous System: Actions of Neuroscience Divulgation and Popularizationwith Students of Public Basic Education

Este estudo tem a finalidade de relatar uma prática proposta (Semana do Cérebro de Uruguaiana) com o intuito de contribuir com a popularização e divulgação da Neurociência junto à Educação Básica. Paralelamente à Semana Internacional do Cérebro (Brain Awareness Week) foram realizadas atividades voltadas para alunos da rede pública de Educação Básica. As atividades foram organizadas em seis etapas: (1) divulgação; (2) palestra explicativa sobre o funcionamento do Sistema Nervoso Central; (3) exposição de neuroanatomia; (4) demonstração prática de ações nervosas; (5) noções de pesquisa científica em neurociências; e (6) avaliação. Ao final verificou-se a opinião dos alunos quanto às atividades realizadas durante as diferentes etapas, 98,6% manifestaram ter interesse em aprender mais sobre o sistema nervoso, 85,2% relataram que as atividades propostas serviram para despertar seu interesse por pesquisa e ciência, e, ao avaliarem as ações de uma forma geral, atribuindo uma nota de 0 a 10, a nota atribuída foi de 9,4 ± 0,99. Desse modo, pode-se afirmar que a proposta foi bem aceita pelos alunos, sendo considerada válida e atingindo o objetivo de promover a divulgação e popularização da neurociência

This study aimed to report a practice (Brain Awareness Week of Uruguaiana) that was proposed with the aim of contribute with the popularization and dissemination of Neuroscience in the Basic Education. Alongside the Brain Awareness Week we performed activities with students from public basic education. The activities were organized in six steps: (1) disclosure; (2) lecture explaining the functioning of the Central Nervous System; (3) neuroanatomy exposition; (4) practical demonstration of nerve actions; (5) notions of scientific research neuroscience; and (6) evaluation. At the end was verified the opinion of students about the activities carried in the different steps. 98.6% of students expressed interest in learning more about the nervous system. 85.2% reported that the activities proposed in our actions served to awaken their interest on research and science, and when evaluating the actions in general, with a score from 0 to 10, the assigned score was 9.4 ± 0.99. Thus, we can claim that our proposal was well accepted by the students and is considered valid and reaching the aim of promoting the dissemination and popularization of neuroscience

Conhecendo o sistema nervoso: ações de divulgação e popularização da neurociência junto a estudantes da Rede Pública de Educação Básica / Knowing the nervous system: actions of neuroscience divulgation and popularization with students of Public Basic Education

Este estudo tem a finalidade de relatar uma prática proposta (Semana do Cérebro de Uruguaiana) com o intuito de contribuir com a popularização e divulgação da Neurociência junto à Educação Básica. Paralelamente à Semana Internacional do Cérebro (Brain Awareness Week) foram realizadas atividades voltadas para alunos da rede pública de Educação Básica. As atividades foram organizadas em seis etapas: (1) divulgação; (2) palestra explicativa sobre o funcionamento do Sistema Nervoso Central; (3) exposição de neuroanatomia; (4) demonstração prática de ações nervosas; (5) noções de pesquisa científica em neurociências; e (6) avaliação. Ao final verificou-se a opinião dos alunos quanto às atividades realizadas durante as diferentes etapas, 98,6% manifestaram ter interesse em aprender mais sobre o sistema nervoso, 85,2% relataram que as atividades propostas serviram para despertar seu interesse por pesquisa e ciência, e, ao avaliarem as ações de uma forma geral, atribuindo uma nota de 0 a 10, a nota atribuída foi de 9,4 ± 0,99. Desse modo, pode-se afirmar que a proposta foi bem aceita pelos alunos, sendo considerada válida e atingindo o objetivo de promover a divulgação e popularização da neurociência.

This study aimed to report a practice (Brain Awareness Week of Uruguaiana) that was proposed with the aim of contribute with the popularization and dissemination of Neuroscience in the Basic Education. Alongside the Brain Awareness Week we performed activities with students from public basic education. The activities were organized in six steps: (1) disclosure; (2) lecture explaining the functioning of the Central Nervous System; (3) neuroanatomy exposition; (4) practical demonstration of nerve actions; (5) notions of scientific research neuroscience; and (6) evaluation. At the end was verified the opinion of students about the activities carried in the different steps. 98.6% of students expressed interest in learning more about the nervous system. 85.2% reported that the activities proposed in our actions served to awaken their interest on research and science, and when evaluating the actions in general, with a score from 0 to 10, the assigned score was 9.4 ± 0.99. Thus, we can claim that our proposal was well accepted by the students and is considered valid and reaching the aim of promoting the dissemination and popularization of neuroscience.

Chronic exposure to low mercury chloride concentration induces object recognition and aversive memories deficits in rats.

This work examines the effects of chronic exposure to low inorganic mercury (mercury chloride, HgCl(2)) concentration on the recognition and aversive memories. Forty male Wistar rats were divided into 4 groups treated during 30 or 60 days with saline (control) or HgCl(2) doses. After treated the animals were tested considering object recognition and inhibitory avoidance behavioral memory paradigms. Elevated plus maze, open field and tail flick tests were used to assess anxiety, locomotor and exploratory activity and pain thresholds. Only exposure for 60 days to HgCl(2) induced in memory deficits quantified in the object recognition task. In the inhibitory avoidance all the animals exposed to mercury (for 30 or 60 days) presented worst performance than control animals. Our results suggest that chronic exposure to low mercury chloride concentrations impairs memory formation.