Banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO: HECTOR DAVID QUINONES VARGAS

Uma banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO de MESTRADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : HECTOR DAVID QUINONES VARGAS
DATE: 15/03/2021
TIME: 11:00
LOCAL: Videoconferência
TITLE:
Effects on the behavior of paulistinha fish (Danio reiro) in relation to exposure to active compounds of ayahuasca in models of depression, anxiety and memory.

KEY WORDS:
Ayahuasca, N,N-Dimethyltryptamine, Harmine, Zebrafish, Depression, Anxiety, Memory.

PAGES: 29
BIG AREA: Ciências Humanas
AREA: Psicologia
SUMMARY:
Depression and anxiety disorders are the most prevalent mental health ailments affecting more than 500 million people around the world. In order to explain the physiopathology of these disorders several hypotheses have been proposed, the most notable of these being the monoaminergic theory, and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation, these being non-exclusive of each other. Despite substantial progress in the development of new drugs to treat anxiety and depression, current treatments have limited efficacy. Current antidepressants can take several weeks to achieve the desired therapeutic effects and about a third of patients do not respond. Thus, an enormous effort has been devoted to the search for alternative pharmacological treatments. A class of drugs with a pivotal serotonergic agonist action known as psychedelics have shown to be a promising treatment alternative for both conditions, and for the cognitive deficits exhibited by critical depressive patients. One particular psychedelic, known as Ayahuasca, that is made from the combined infusion of Banisteriopsis caapi stem rich in monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOi) such as Harmine and other Beta-Carbolines, and Psychotria viridis leaves, rich in N, N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), has particularly stood out as a new treatment for depression and anxiety disorders. For the purposes of this study, we will evaluate the effects of increasing doses of the main active compounds found in Ayahuasca on behavioral profiles associated with Zebrafish (Danio rerio) models of depression and anxiety disorders and memory cognitive deficits. Adult zebrafish will be exposed to 3 different concentrations of: DMT, Harmine, and both alkaloids combined. To determine therapeutic effects of the alkaloids on memory, depression, and anxiety, behavioral parameters of the zebrafish will be assessed with the following tasks: Conditioned Place Aversion (CPA), Unpredictable Chronic Stress and the Novel Tank Diving Test. The behavioral variables analyzed for this study will be average swimming speed, maximum speed, total distance covered, freezing, bottom dwelling, latency to cross and time spent on each side of the CPA tank. We expect that chronic treatment with the main active compounds of ayahuasca (Either independently administered or together) will exert a therapeutic role in tasks that model, anxiety, cognitive deficits (aversive memory), and depressed type behaviors. We also expect that chronic exposure with DMT and Harmine combined will exert more robust therapeutic effects on the tasks than both the two isolated compounds.

BANKING MEMBERS:
Presidente - 1696755 - BRUNO LOBAO SOARES
Interno - 1216466 - JOHN FONTENELE ARAUJO
Notícia cadastrada em: 11/03/2021 04:43
SIGAA | Superintendência de Tecnologia da Informação - (84) 3342 2210 | Copyright © 2006-2024 - UFRN - sigaa09-producao.info.ufrn.br.sigaa09-producao