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Tidal wetlands play a significant role in the coastal carbon cycle and exchange material with the atmosphere and coastal ocean. Here, we report on changes in dissolved inorganic carbon speciation and isotopic composition throughout a 24 h cycle (2 tidal cycles) in Feb. 2007 in a channel connecting the Amazon estuary to the basin of a tidal forest. At this site, tropical forest soils are inundated at high tide by estuarine freshwater, and temporal concentration changes in the channel reflect exchanges between the forest and estuary. Our data show an export of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in the form of excess CO2 and, to a much lesser extent, CH4. However, the tidal forest traps suspended sediments. Mixing plots of DIC versus conductivity showed that the DIC originated from the tidal forest soil, with a negligible contribution from the local watershed. Evolution of the isotopic signature of DIC reveals a C-13-depleted source (-56.9 +/- 3.3 parts per thousand), presumably originating from a dominant methanogenic pathway of carbon mineralization followed by almost complete CH4 oxidation in the organic clay-rich freshwater soil.

Póster presentado en el 26th ECNP (European College of Neuropsychopharmacology) Congress, celebrado del 5 al 9 de octubre de 2013, en Barcelona (España), publicado en: European Neuropsychopharmacology 23(Suppl. 2): S423-424 (2013). ISSN: 0924-977X. e-ISSN: 1873-7862. DOI: 10.1016/S0924-977X(13)70670-9

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays a crucial role in higher brain functions such as working memory or cognition and controls, via the excitatory axons of pyramidal neurons, the activity of many subcortical motor and limbic areas. It receives a dense innervation from the brainstem aminergic nuclei, including the serotonergic raphe nuclei. Prefrontal function and metabolism is altered in patients with severe psychiatric disorders, like major depression or schizophrenia. Although the exact role of serotonergic neurotransmission in PFC remains largely unknown, the PFC contains a very large density or serotonin 5-HT1A (inhibitory) and 5-HT2A (excitatory) receptors. In addition, hallucinogens like LSD or DOI are agonists and atypical antipsychotics are antagonists at 5-HT2A receptors. In this review we focus on the main excitatory and inhibitory mechanisms through which serotonin modulates pyramidal and GABAergic neuron activity in the PFC.We report on the presence of 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A receptor-mediated responses in pyramidal neurons of the PFC that exert opposite effects on their activity when recorded in vivo in the anesthetized rat. Despite the large co-expression of both receptors in pyramidal neurons of the PFC, physiological amounts of 5-HT mainly inhibit pyramidal neurons. This is probably due to the distinct location of 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A in pyramidal neurons. Thus, 5-HT1A receptors are mainly localized in the axon hillock, where they may have a prominent inhibitory role in the control of pyramidal activity given their coupling to GIRK channels. Moreover, 5-HT can inhibit pyramidal neurons indirectly through the activation of 5-HT2A and 5-HT3 receptors localized in GABAergic interneurons and a subsequent increase in synaptic GABA inputs.

The changes in aminergic receptors elicited by antidepressant treatments have been extensively examined in the brain of experimental animals using radioligand and molecular techniques. However, there is a very limited direct information regarding the changes effected by such treatments in the human brain, as well as its relationship to clinical improvement. Using positron emission tomography (PET) scanning, the authors examined the cortical 5-Hydroxytryptamine-2A (5-HT2A) receptor binding of [18F]fluoro-ethyl-spiperone after a 4-week treatment with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor paroxetine. [18F]fluoro-ethyl-spiperone labels 5-HT2A receptors in the cortex and dopamine D2 receptors in the basal ganglia. A binding index (BI) was calculated in the frontal cortex and the basal ganglia (mostly caudate-putamen) by reference to cerebellum. Thirty-seven inpatients with major depression with a mean +/- SD score on the 21-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D-21) of 26.3 +/- 4.3 at admission were treated with paroxetine 40 mg/day. After 4 weeks of treatment, the BI in the frontal cortex of remitted patients (HAM-D-21 score = 4.7 +/- 4.0; N = 20) was significantly greater than the score in nonresponder patients (HAM-D-21 score = 21.2 +/- 4.0; N = 17) (BI = 0.54 +/- 0.15 and 0.41 +/- 0.17, respectively; p < 0.02). No such difference was observed in the basal ganglia (5.45 +/- 1.11 and 5.39 +/- 0.82, respectively; p = 0.85). The significant difference in cortical BI persisted when age was used as covariate (p < 0.016). These data suggest that clinical improvement in patients treated with paroxetine is associated with an increase in the density of 5-HT2A receptors in the frontal cortex.

We have explored the possibility of using measures of 5-HT (extracellular 5-HT and 5-HIAA in blood) as peripheral indexes of MAO activity. Depressed patients treated with phenelzine for 6 weeks display a dramatic increase of plasma 5-HT (270% of basal values) together with a decrease of plasma 5-HIAA. After treatment with irreversible MAO inhibitors, rat plasma 5-HIAA decreased in a similar fashion than MAO-A activity in liver, lungs and brain, measured using 5-HT as substrate. These results support the use of plasma 5-HT and 5-HIAA in humans to evaluate the action of MAOI on the serotonergic system.

The effects of brofaromine, a reversible inhibitor of MAO-A, on the extracellular content of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) have been studied in two regions of the rat brain (midbrain raphe nuclei and frontal cortex). In both areas, locally infused brofaromine induced dose-dependent increases of 5-HT which were more marked in the raphe nuclei. Brofaromine increased extracellular 5-HT more markedly than clorgyline, suggesting that other factors (i.e. inhibition of 5-HT uptake) may be involved in its local effects. Systemic (3 mg/kg, s.c.) brofaromine did not modify extracellular 5-HT in any brain area examined. In contrast, the concurrent administration of brofaromine and deprenyl led to significant changes in the concentration of 5-HT and 5-HIAA in the brain extracellular space. The results are discussed in relation to the role of MAO-A in the control of 5-HT output.

The activation of GABAB receptors hyperpolarizes 5-HT neurons and reduces cell firing. In situ hybridization showed the presence of the GABAB-RI receptor transcript in virtually all 5-HT neurons of the dorsal and median raphe nuclei (DR and MnR, respectively) whereas the GAD transcript was present mainly outside these nuclei. The systemic administration of baclofen increased the in vivo 5-HT release in the DR, MnR and several projection areas. As shown previously in the DR, the application of baclofen in the MnR increased the local 5-HT output. Thus, although 5-HT neurons contain inhibitory GABAB-RI receptors, baclofen increased 5-HT release in some brain areas, likely by a preferential action on terminal GABAB autoreceptors in inhibitory inputs to 5-HT neurons. The scarcity of GAD-expressing cells in the DR and MnR suggests that these inputs originate mainly outside these nuclei.

NMDA receptor (NMDA-R) antagonists are extensively used as schizophrenia models due to their ability to evoke positive and negative symptoms as well as cognitive deficits similar to those of the illness. Likewise, 5-HT2A receptor agonists display hallucinogen actions resembling psychotic symptoms. Overall, these drugs are useful models of schizophrenia for the screening of new antipsychotic drugs. However, the cellular and network elements involved in these actions are poorly known. Data obtained by several groups in recent years indicate that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and anatomically related areas play a major role in these actions. This paper summarizes data obtained by the authors supporting that a) NMDA-R antagonists (phencyclidine –PCP–, dizocilpine –MK–801–) and 5-HT2A agonists (DOI) alter the function of PFC in a similar fashion, and b) antipsychotic drugs exert their therapeutic action, at least in part, by normalizing hyperactivity states in PFC. While the actions of NMDA-R antagonists may involve blockade of these receptors in PFC and subcortical areas, that of antipsychotic drugs, in particular atypical drugs like clozapine, appear to be mediated essentially by a local action in PFC. These results help to better understand the neurobiological basis of the action of pharmacological models of schizophrenia and the mode of action of antipsychotic drugs., Work supported by grants SAF2007-62378, FIS PI070111 and FIS FIS PI060264.

Disponible en: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC446220/, [EN]The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most frequently prescribed antidepressant drugs, because they are well tolerated and have no severe side effects. They rapidly block serotonin (5-HT) reuptake, yet the onset of their therapeutic action requires weeks of treatment. This delay is the result of presynaptic and postsynaptic adaptive mechanisms secondary to reuptake inhibition. The prevention of a negative feedback mechanism operating at the 5-HT autoreceptor level enhances the neurochemical and clinical effects of SSRIs. The blockade of 5-HT2A receptors also seems to improve the clinical effects of SSRIs. These receptors are located postsynaptically to 5-HT axons, mainly in the neocortex. Pyramidal neurons in the prefrontal cortex are particularly enriched in 5-HT2A receptors. Their blockade may affect the function of prefrontal­subcortical circuits, an effect that probably underlies the beneficial effects of the addition of atypical antipsychotic drugs, which are 5-HT2A receptor antagonists, to SSRIs in treatment-resistant patients., [FR]Les inhibiteurs spécifiques du recaptage de la sérotonine (ISRS) sont le plus souvent prescrits comme antidépresseurs parce qu'ils sont bien tolérés et ne produisent pas d'effets secondaires graves. Ils bloquent rapidement le recaptage de la sérotonine (5-HT), mais il faut des semaines de traitement pour que leur effet thérapeutique se fasse sentir. Ce retard est attribuable à des mécanismes d'adaptation présynaptiques et postsynaptiques secondaires à l'inhibition du recaptage. La prévention d'un mécanisme de rétroaction négative fonctionnant au niveau des autorécepteurs de la 5-HT améliore les effets neurochimiques et cliniques des ISRS. Le blocage des récepteurs de la 5-HT2A semble aussi améliorer l'effet clinique des ISRS. Ces récepteurs sont situés dans la région postsynatique par rapport aux axones de 5-HT, principalement dans le néocortex. Les neurones pyramidaux du cortex préfrontal sont particulièrement riches en récepteurs de la 5-HT2A. Leur blocage peut avoir, sur le fonctionnement des circuits préfrontaux-sous-corticaux, un effet qui sous-tend probablement les effets bénéfiques de l'ajout d'antipsychotiques atypiques, qui sont des antagonistes des récepteurs de la 5-HT2A, chez les patients résistants au traitement aux ISRS.

Cristina Messa et al., [Objective]: The aim of the study was to investigate differences in 5-HT2A receptor binding between healthy volunteers and patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), either never treated before with antidepressants (drug-naive: DN) or responding to paroxetine treatment (drug-treated: DT), [Methods]: Nineteen DN patients with MDD and 15 euthymic DT (paroxetine 4 weeks) patients were compared with a group of 20 healthy controls (C) with positron emission tomography (PET) using [(18)F]fluoroethylspiperone ([(18)F]FESP), a 5-HT(2A) and D(2) receptor antagonist. A "binding index" (BI) of [(18)F]FESP to cortical and basal ganglia regions was calculated as the ratio of the activity in these regions to that of cerebellum. Differences in BI between groups, i.e. C versus DN or DT, were assessed by ANOVA, with or without age as covariate (ANCOVA)., [Results]: A significant reduction in BI ( P=0.003 ANOVA, P=0.001 ANCOVA) was found in DN patients in the frontal, occipital, temporal and cingulate cortices, but not in the striatum. No significant differences emerged between C and DT patients., [Conclusions]: The reduction of [(18)F]FESP BI in cortical areas of DN depressed, but not of euthymic DT patients suggests an association between the occurrence of depressive symptoms and impairment of cortical 5-HT(2A) receptors. [(18)F]FESP cortical BI may represent a state marker of depression., Grant supporting: Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria 98/6978 (profesor Artigás).