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Hippocampal plasticity is triggered by a variety of stimuli including sensory inputs, neurotrophins and inflammation. Leptin, whose primary function is to regulate food intake and energy expenditure, has been recently shown to affect hippocampal neurogenesis and plasticity. Interestingly, mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) exhibit impaired hippocampal function, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. To address this issue, we compared leptin responsiveness of hippocampal neurons in control and HFD-fed mice by combining single-cell electrophysiology and biochemical assays. We found that leptin modulated spontaneous and evoked synaptic transmission in control, but not HFD, mice. This functional impairment was paralleled by blunted activation of STAT-3, one of the key signal transduction pathways controlled by the fully functional isoform of the leptin receptor, ObRb. In addition, SOCS-3 expression was non-responsive to leptin, indicating that modulation of negative feedback impinging on ObRb was also altered. Our results advance the understanding of leptin action on hippocampal plasticity and, more importantly, suggest that leptin resistance is a key determinant of hippocampal dysfunction associated with hypercaloric diet.

Tau is a microtubule-associated protein exerting several physiological functions in neurons. In Alzheimer’s disease (AD) misfolded tau accumulates intraneuronally and leads to axonal degeneration. However, tau has also been found in the extracellular medium. Recent studies indicated that extracellular tau uploaded from neurons causes synaptic dysfunction and contributes to tau pathology propagation. Here we report novel evidence that extracellular tau oligomers are abundantly and rapidly accumulated in astrocytes where they disrupt intracellular Ca2+ signaling and Ca2+-dependent release of gliotransmitters, especially ATP. Consequently, synaptic vesicle release, the expression of pre- and post-synaptic proteins, and mEPSC frequency and amplitude were reduced in neighboring neurons. Notably, we found that tau uploading from astrocytes required the amyloid precursor protein, APP. Collectively, our findings suggests that astrocytes play a critical role in the synaptotoxic effects of tau via reduced gliotransmitter availability, and that astrocytes are major determinants of tau pathology in AD.

Age-related cognitive impairment and dementia are an increasing societal burden. Epidemiological studies indicate that lifestyle factors, e.g. physical, cognitive and social activities, correlate with reduced dementia risk; moreover, positive effects on cognition of physical/cognitive training have been found in cognitively unimpaired elders. Less is known about effectiveness and action mechanisms of physical/cognitive training in elders already suffering from Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), a population at high risk for dementia. We assessed in 113 MCI subjects aged 65-89 years, the efficacy of combined physical-cognitive training on cognitive decline, Gray Matter (GM) volume loss and Cerebral Blood Flow (CBF) in hippocampus and parahippocampal areas, and on brain-blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) activity elicited by a cognitive task, measured by ADAS-Cog scale, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL) and fMRI, respectively, before and after 7 months of training vs. usual life. Cognitive status significantly decreased in MCI-no training and significantly increased in MCI-training subjects; training increased parahippocampal CBF, but no effect on GM volume loss was evident; BOLD activity increase, indicative of neural efficiency decline, was found only in MCI-no training subjects. These results show that a non pharmacological, multicomponent intervention improves cognitive status and indicators of brain health in MCI subjects.

Maternal obesity negatively affects fetal development. Abnormalities in brain glucose metabolism are predictive of metabolic-cognitive disorders.

The fundamental role of D-serine as co-agonist at the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR), a major glutamate receptor subtype involved in synaptic plasticity, is well documented and experimental evidence indicates now that this D-amino acid is an influential player in the context of psychiatric diseases such as schizophrenia and depression. More recently, a direct link between cocaine addiction, another neuropsychiatric disorder, and D-serine signaling has been proposed by findings that D-serine levels are decreased in the nucleus accumbens of cocaine-treated rats. Such deficit in D-serine content leads to impairment of NMDAR-dependent synaptic plasticity and locomotor sensitization to cocaine, a behavioral hallmark of cocaine addiction. The D-serine hypothesis for cocaine addiction, here proposed, provides considerable insight in the understanding of the cocaine-induced neuroadaptations in reward-related neuronal circuits and opens new attractive perspectives for therapeutic approaches to treat this addictive state.

Hormones and peptides involved in glucose homeostasis are emerging as important modulators of neural plasticity. In this regard, increasing evidence shows that molecules such as insulin, insulin-like growth factor-I, glucagon-like peptide-1, and ghrelin impact on the function of the hippocampus, which is a key area for learning and memory. Indeed, all these factors affect fundamental hippocampal properties including synaptic plasticity (i.e., synapse potentiation and depression), structural plasticity (i.e., dynamics of dendritic spines), and adult neurogenesis, thus leading to modifications in cognitive performance. Here, we review the main mechanisms underlying the effects of glucose metabolism on hippocampal physiology. In particular, we discuss the role of these signals in the modulation of cognitive functions and their potential implications in dysmetabolism-related cognitive decline.

Neurorehabilitation protocols based on the use of robotic devices have recently shown to provide promising clinical results. However, their efficacy is still limited because of the poor comprehension of the mechanisms at the basis of functional enhancements.

Regulation of feeding behavior has been a crucial step in the interplay between leptin and the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (ARC). On one hand, the basic mechanisms regulating central and peripheral action of leptin are becoming increasingly clear. On the other hand, knowledge on how brain sensitivity to leptin can be modulated is only beginning to accumulate. This point is of paramount importance if one considers that pathologically obese subjects have high levels of plasmatic leptin. A possible strategy for exploring neural plasticity in the ARC is to act on environmental stimuli. This can be achieved with various protocols, namely, physical exercise, high-fat diet, caloric restriction, and environmental enrichment. Use of these protocols can, in turn, be exploited to isolate key molecules with translational potential. In the present review, we summarize present knowledge about the mechanisms of plasticity induced by the environment in the ARC. In addition, we also address the role of leptin in extrahypothalamic plasticity, in order to propose an integrated view of how a single diffusible factor can regulate diverse brain functions.