This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"An international team of researchers is looking at ways to prevent cognitive impairment following the use of general anesthetics. Their work could lead to better outcomes for the over 312 million surgical patients who undergo anesthesia each year. General anesthetics are associated with the occurrence of postoperative delirium. This complication – often marked by inattention, memory disturbances and confusion – makes it hard for surgical patients to resume daily living activities, and has even been linked to an increased risk of death. The drug dexmedetomidine helps prevent postoperative delirium, but the biological basis for this protection isn’t clear. The researchers previously reported that a single exposure to the common anesthetic etomidate can trigger long-lasting changes to an inhibitory receptor in the brains of mice. Specifically, etomidate increased the number of α5 GABAA receptors expressed on the surface of neurons..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Going in for surgery? It’s possible the level of pain you’ll experience during recovery is encoded in your DNA. This conclusion draws from the work of an international collaboration of researchers. By looking at the outcomes of over 1000 patients, they pinpointed factors linked to ongoing postsurgical pain. They found that one important determinant is the code of a single gene – the brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF, gene – opening new avenues for how we understand, and treat, chronic pain. Nearly all surgical patients experience some degree of postoperative pain, but it’s usually resolved as they heal. For many, however, it can last for months or even years – a condition referred to as chronic postsurgical pain. Although some elements that lead to this condition are known – nerve injury during surgery, for example, is one common cause – there’s often no easily identifiable culprit. Enter genetics..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

Clinical evidence has shown that physical exercise during pregnancy may alter brain devel- opment and improve cognitive function of offspring. However, the mechanisms through which maternal exercise might promote such effects are not well understood. The present study examined levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and absolute cell num- bers in the hippocampal formation and cerebral cortex of rat pups born from mothers exer- cised during pregnancy. Additionally, we evaluated the cognitive abilities of adult offspring in different behavioral paradigms (exploratory activity and habituation in open field tests, spatial memory in a water maze test, and aversive memory in a step-down inhibitory avoid- ance task). Results showed that maternal exercise during pregnancy increased BDNF lev- els and absolute numbers of neuronal and non-neuronal cells in the hippocampal formation of offspring. No differences in BDNF levels or cell numbers were detected in the cerebral cortex. It was also observed that offspring from exercised mothers exhibited better cognitive performance in nonassociative (habituation) and associative (spatial learning) mnemonic tasks than did offspring from sedentary mothers. Our findings indicate that maternal exer- cise during pregnancy enhances offspring cognitive function (habituation behavior and spa- tial learning) and increases BDNF levels and cell numbers in the hippocampal formation of offspring.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Premature ovarian failure (POF) is a leading cause of female infertility, and there are no effective treatments. Although the pathogenesis is unclear, it appears to involve dysregulated signaling between BDNF and its receptor TrkB. However, BDNF can’t be used as a drug, so TrkB has never been considered as a therapeutic target for POF—until now. In a new study, researchers tested the effects of a TrkB agonist antibody, Ab4B19, in mice with POF induced by natural aging or cyclophosphamide. In both POF models, Ab4B19 increased the numbers of preantral and antral follicles and normalized gonadal hormone levels, ultimately improving fertility. Ab4B19 also attenuated gonadotoxicity and apoptosis in cyclophosphamide-treated mice. Further studies revealed that BDNF and TrkB expression were highly increased in human ovarian follicles during folliculogenesis, confirming the important role of BDNF-TrkB signaling in normal fertility. In contrast, in follicles of aged women, BDNF expression was downregulated..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.