Search

The ethnopharmacological relevance of the Millingtonia hortensis (M. hortensis) flower's aqueous extract lies in its traditional use as a herbal remedy in Southeast Asia. With a rich history in folk medicine, this aqueous has been esteemed for its purported sedative and anxiolytic properties. Our research delves into the scientific basis of these traditional claims, exploring the potential mechanisms underlying the observed effects of M. hortensis flower's aqueous extract on sleep promotion and mood regulation. This study aimed to explore the sleep-promoting effects of M. hortensis dried flower in mice, using an aqueous concentration equivalent to a human concentration of 2.7 mg/mL. Anxiolytic and antidepressant properties were evaluated using behavioural tests, while electroencephalography (EEG) analysis probed the neural mechanisms underlying sleep promotion post-consumption. The aqueous extract of M. hortensis dried flower administered to mice showed a decrease in immobility in the forced swimming test, demonstrating antidepressant-like effects. Moreover, mice treated with M. hortensis aqueous exhibited increased non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep duration, corroborating sleep-promoting potential. EEG analysis of mice treated with M. hortensis aqueous revealed heightened beta oscillations in the frontal and parietal cortex, while pre-treatment with M. hortensis aqueous or diazepam enhanced rapid eye movement (REM) sleep after thiopental administration. Interestingly, M. hortensis aqueous pre-treatment augmented delta frequency ranges in the frontal cortex. Overall, these findings indicate that M. hortensis dried flower's aqueous extract, at a human-equivalent dosage, exerts significant behavioural and neural effects specifically, sedative and hypnotic aspects in mice, corroborating its potential as a natural remedy to promote sleep and regulate mood.

Analyzing sleep electroencephalography (EEG) data can provide insights from application of basic principles of signal analysis (filtering, sampling, and spectral processing). This study investigated whether jasmine essential oil (JEO) intake differed in sleep EEG patterns from sedative drug intake. Adult male Swiss Albino (ICR) mice treated with distilled water, jasmine essential oil and lorazepam administration were assessed for sleep stages offline from the dorsal hippocampal brain activity. Two-way repeated measures ANOVA revealed that JEO reduced the wakening duration while increasing NREM sleep following 60 minutes of intake to the end of the 3-hour recording, in comparison to water gavage. Their pharmaco-EEG fingerprints after a single intake of jasmine oil and lorazepam showed a high power-level of delta and beta frequencies in the first 30 minutes of recording. A dramatic decrease in gamma2 power activity was observed only after lorazepam was administered. Slow wave activity within the hippocampus was a highlight of the scent relaxant as promoter of non-REM sleep.

Cognitive skills are a set of higher-order thinking processes that allow children to learn successfully. By developing cognitive skills, the brain is connected to Rapidly complete the information processes. The aim of this study was to examine the cognitive process development, decision making and eventually cognitive performance in school age children evaluated by the galvanic skin conductance response (SCR) method. Peripheral SCR signals during cognitive loading were recorded in children in grades 1 to 3 of a representative school in Southern Thailand. Eriksen flanker and dexterity tests were conducted to evaluate the development of its association with cognitive skill. Regression-based analyses showed reduced reaction time on Eriksen flanker (both congruent trials with regression coefficient = -0.02924, p

Background/Aim: There seems to be a correlation between changes in movement patterns with aging and brain activation. In the preparation and execution of movements, neural oscillations play an important role. In this study, cortical high frequency brain oscillations were analyzed in 15 healthy young adults and 15 elderly adults who participated in eyehand coordination tasks. Patients and Methods: The brain activities of healthy young and older adults were recorded using electroencephalography (EEG). Results: Elderly participants spent significantly more time completing the task than young participants. During eye-hand coordination in elderly groups, beta power decreased significantly in the central midline and parietal brain regions. The data suggest that healthy elderly subjects had intact cognitive performance, but relatively poor eye-hand coordination associated with loss of beta brain oscillation in the central midline and parietal cortex and reduced ability to attentional movement. Conclusion: Beta frequency in the parietal brain sites may contribute to attentional movement. This could be an important method for monitoring cognitive brain function changes as the brain ages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aim: The same neural processes may govern older people's motor and cognitive abilities since an inability to switch between actions develops with aging. In this study, a dexterity test was used to measure motor and cognitive perseverance, which required participants to move their fingers fast and correctly on hole boards. Materials and Methods: An electroencephalography (EEG) recording was used to evaluate how healthy young and older adults process brain signals when performing the test. Results: A significant difference was found between the young and older groups in the average time taken to complete the test, with the older group taking 87.4 s and the young group taking 55.21 s. During motor movement, young participants showed alpha desynchronization over the cortex (Fz, Cz, Oz, Pz, T5, T6, P3, P4) in comparison to the resting state. However, compared to the younger group, no alpha desynchronization was found in the aging group during motor performance. It was noteworthy that alpha power (Pz, P3, and P4) in the parietal cortex was significantly lower in older compared to young adults. Conclusion: Age-related slowdown in motor performance may be caused by deteriorating alpha activity in the parietal cortex, which functions as a sensorimotor interface. This study provides new insights into how perception and action are distributed between brain regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aim: The dorsal striatum is a brain area integrating information for movement output. The local field potentials (LFPs) reflect the neuronal activity that can be used for monitoring brain activities and controlling movement. Materials and Methods: Rhythmic low gamma power activity (30.1-45 Hz) in the dorsal striatum was monitored according to voluntary motor movement in rotarod and bar tests in 0.5 mg/kg haloperidol-induced mice. Results: Haloperidol can effectively induce movement impairment indicated by decreased low gamma LFP with the lessened rotarod test's latency fall, and the enhanced bar test's descending latency. L-DOPA was used for the induction of a dopamine-dependent signal. The results showed that 25 mg/kg of L-DOPA could reverse the effect of haloperidol by enhancing low gamma oscillation concomitantly with the improvement in behavioral movement as fast as 60 min after administration, suggesting that dopamine signaling increases low gamma frequency of LFP in correlation with the improved mice movement. This work supports quantitative LFP assessment as a monitoring tool to track drug action on the nervous system. Conclusion: In animal models of motor impairment, oral dopaminergic treatment can be effective in restoring motor dysfunction by stimulating low gamma power activity in the dorsal striatum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]