I'm a Neuroscientist and currently Full Professor of Psychology (Neurocognition and Human Development) at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus. I'm a senior investigator in the areas of neuropharmacology (drug use, medical cannabis), cognition, mental health and bioneurofeedback, and provide consulting services and continuing education in neuroscience, psychology, health and education.
Despite adverse effects on children, poly-substance use during pregnancy continues to be a major ... more Despite adverse effects on children, poly-substance use during pregnancy continues to be a major public health issue [1]. Psychoactive drugs are toxic to the developing brain, especially during the second and third trimester of pregnancy [2]. Given that insults to the central nervous system have their greatest impact upon cells, circuits and processes that are in accelerated development during the fetal period [3], maternal substance use is strongly associated with short-and long-term negative neurological consequences on Purpose: Substance use during pregnancy is a public health problem. Prenatal drug exposure (PDE) is linked to abnormal physical growth, altered brain organization, and cognitive, emotional, and behavioral problems later in life. Working memory (WM) plays an important role in the cognitive processes required for academic achievement, particularly for problem-solving, planning, and decision-making. The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review of studies measuring the effect of PDE on children's WM. Methods: Using the Joanna Briggs Institute Reviewers' Manual, we systematically reviewed eight studies (published 2008 to 2019) that measured the effects of PDE on WM among children ages 5 to 12. Results: Studies measuring prenatal exposure to methamphetamine, tobacco, or cocaine did not find differences in WM between PDE groups and controls. Nonetheless, three of the studies found that alcohol had negative effects on children's WM, pinpointing the potential of alcohol to disrupt neurocognitive development. Conclusion: We were not able to generate conclusions regarding the consequences of PDE on children's WM, but we discuss methodological issues and implications for future research on this phenomenon.
The family plays a key role in the development and progression of substance use disorder (SUD) ei... more The family plays a key role in the development and progression of substance use disorder (SUD) either by inducing risk, or promoting protection and resilience. However, only a limited number of studies have addressed how the families of individuals with SUD experience and perceive drug addiction and what attitudes toward treatment they display. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe how the parents of two Puerto Rican adult men with a history of SUD understand this phenomenon using an interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results show that parents perceived SUD as a negative phenomenon, but their arguments regarding their sons' drug addiction contained several misconceptions. Parents believed that the rehabilitation process was dependent primarily on their sons' willpower and intelligence, and they also considered trust to be one of the most important elements to obtain family support. We conclude that these parents used past experiences and their immediate social reality to construct particular conceptualizations of their sons' SUD. Our findings provide important information about family perspectives that can be used for SUD treatment and prevention strategies.
Background: The purpose of this study was to determine energy drink (ED) consumption patterns amo... more Background: The purpose of this study was to determine energy drink (ED) consumption patterns among Hispanic college students. We measured the prevalence and frequency of ED consumption according to gender, degree programs, and specific university-related and social situations. In addition, we assessed the frequency of consumption of EDs mixed with alcoholic beverages. Methods: A total of 508 college students from the University of Puerto Rico, the largest Hispanic institution of higher education statewide, completed an online questionnaire. Results: Twenty-one percent of participants reported consuming EDs with the majority consuming EDs either occasionally (every 2-3 months) or at least once or twice a month. Men were found to be more likely to consume EDs than women. Undergraduate students were found less likely to consume EDs than graduate students. Most students consumed EDs while studying and during social activities. More than one-third of participants that consume EDs admitted mixing them with an alcoholic beverage. Graduate students were found to consume EDs mixed with alcohol more often. Conclusions: The majority of students consumed EDs occasionally and while studying. Most side effects reported after consuming EDs were similar to previous findings. The higher consumption of EDs and of EDs mixed with alcohol by students in graduate programs could be explained by a higher and more complex study load requiring longer periods of wakefulness and concentration. Future studies looking at the consumption patterns of EDs in more competitive graduate programs such as medical and/or dentistry school should be considered.
Background: To what extent do identified neurons from different animals vary in their expression ... more Background: To what extent do identified neurons from different animals vary in their expression of ion channel genes? In neurons of the same type, is ion channel expression highly variable and/or is there any relationship between ion channel expression that is conserved? Methodology/Principal Findings: To address these questions we measured ion channel mRNA in large cells (LCs) of the crab cardiac ganglion. We cloned a calcium channel, caco, and a potassium channel, shaker. Using single-cell quantitative PCR, we measured levels of mRNA for these and 6 other different ion channels in cardiac ganglion LCs. Across the population of LCs we measured 3-9 fold ranges of mRNA levels, and we found correlations in the expression of many pairs of conductances Conclusions/Significance: In previous measurements from the crab stomatogastric ganglion (STG), ion channel expression was variable, but many pairs of channels had correlated expression. However, each STG cell type had a unique combination of ion channel correlations. Our findings from the crab cardiac ganglion are similar, but the correlations in the LCs are different from those in STG neurons, supporting the idea that such correlations could be markers of cell identity or activity.
Neurosteroids may influence adult behavior and endocrine function since early in development. To ... more Neurosteroids may influence adult behavior and endocrine function since early in development. To test this hypothesis, Sprague-Dawley pups from both sexes were injected with pregnenolone sulfate (PREG-S) from postnatal (PN) day 1 to 14. Pubertal onset in females was determined by monitoring the day of vaginal opening. After vaginal opening, the pattern of estrous cycle was monitored for three consecutive cycles. During adulthood, anxiety and locomotor activity were assessed with an automated elevated plus maze (EPM) and automated activity monitors, respectively. After behavioral assessment, body weight, gonadal weight, and plasma levels of sex hormones were measured. Neonatal exposure to PREG-S produced anxiolytic effects in females but not males. The opposite effect was seen in males, suppression of locomotor behaviors without changes in anxiety. The day of vaginal opening, gonadal weight, and plasma levels of hormones in adult animals were not altered by neonatal treatment. We suggest that PREG-S exposure during neonatal development can have an impact in anxiety and locomotor behaviors during adulthood in a sex-specific manner.
Distintos científicos y profesionales de la salud mental han discutido algunas implicaciones de l... more Distintos científicos y profesionales de la salud mental han discutido algunas implicaciones de las investigaciones en el campo de la neurociencia para la psicología y ciencias afines. Basado en esas observaciones, este artículo presenta 10 fundamentos básicos de la neurociencia para la psicología, a saber: (1) todos los procesos mentales son operaciones cerebrales; (2) los genes establecen conexiones específicas en el cerebro, pero la experiencia modifica esas conexiones; (3) nuestra mente puede cambiar porque el cerebro es plástico; (4) el aprendizaje y las memorias existen en el cerebro; (5) los factores sociales y ambientales contribuyen al desarrollo de enfermedades mentales; (6) las emociones no pueden separarse de la cognición ni del razonamiento; (7) el apego es importante para generar cambios en el cerebro; (8) la imaginación es clave para el aprendizaje; (9) el cerebro maneja información tanto a nivel consciente como inconsciente; y (10) la aplicabilidad del conocimiento neurocientífico a la psicología tiene un componente ético. La práctica de la psicología puede fortalecerse integrando más cursos de neurociencia en los programas graduados de psicología y aumentando el ofrecimiento de cursos de educación continua en neurociencia.
Despite adverse effects on children, poly-substance use during pregnancy continues to be a major ... more Despite adverse effects on children, poly-substance use during pregnancy continues to be a major public health issue [1]. Psychoactive drugs are toxic to the developing brain, especially during the second and third trimester of pregnancy [2]. Given that insults to the central nervous system have their greatest impact upon cells, circuits and processes that are in accelerated development during the fetal period [3], maternal substance use is strongly associated with short-and long-term negative neurological consequences on Purpose: Substance use during pregnancy is a public health problem. Prenatal drug exposure (PDE) is linked to abnormal physical growth, altered brain organization, and cognitive, emotional, and behavioral problems later in life. Working memory (WM) plays an important role in the cognitive processes required for academic achievement, particularly for problem-solving, planning, and decision-making. The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review of studies measuring the effect of PDE on children's WM. Methods: Using the Joanna Briggs Institute Reviewers' Manual, we systematically reviewed eight studies (published 2008 to 2019) that measured the effects of PDE on WM among children ages 5 to 12. Results: Studies measuring prenatal exposure to methamphetamine, tobacco, or cocaine did not find differences in WM between PDE groups and controls. Nonetheless, three of the studies found that alcohol had negative effects on children's WM, pinpointing the potential of alcohol to disrupt neurocognitive development. Conclusion: We were not able to generate conclusions regarding the consequences of PDE on children's WM, but we discuss methodological issues and implications for future research on this phenomenon.
The family plays a key role in the development and progression of substance use disorder (SUD) ei... more The family plays a key role in the development and progression of substance use disorder (SUD) either by inducing risk, or promoting protection and resilience. However, only a limited number of studies have addressed how the families of individuals with SUD experience and perceive drug addiction and what attitudes toward treatment they display. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe how the parents of two Puerto Rican adult men with a history of SUD understand this phenomenon using an interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results show that parents perceived SUD as a negative phenomenon, but their arguments regarding their sons' drug addiction contained several misconceptions. Parents believed that the rehabilitation process was dependent primarily on their sons' willpower and intelligence, and they also considered trust to be one of the most important elements to obtain family support. We conclude that these parents used past experiences and their immediate social reality to construct particular conceptualizations of their sons' SUD. Our findings provide important information about family perspectives that can be used for SUD treatment and prevention strategies.
Background: The purpose of this study was to determine energy drink (ED) consumption patterns amo... more Background: The purpose of this study was to determine energy drink (ED) consumption patterns among Hispanic college students. We measured the prevalence and frequency of ED consumption according to gender, degree programs, and specific university-related and social situations. In addition, we assessed the frequency of consumption of EDs mixed with alcoholic beverages. Methods: A total of 508 college students from the University of Puerto Rico, the largest Hispanic institution of higher education statewide, completed an online questionnaire. Results: Twenty-one percent of participants reported consuming EDs with the majority consuming EDs either occasionally (every 2-3 months) or at least once or twice a month. Men were found to be more likely to consume EDs than women. Undergraduate students were found less likely to consume EDs than graduate students. Most students consumed EDs while studying and during social activities. More than one-third of participants that consume EDs admitted mixing them with an alcoholic beverage. Graduate students were found to consume EDs mixed with alcohol more often. Conclusions: The majority of students consumed EDs occasionally and while studying. Most side effects reported after consuming EDs were similar to previous findings. The higher consumption of EDs and of EDs mixed with alcohol by students in graduate programs could be explained by a higher and more complex study load requiring longer periods of wakefulness and concentration. Future studies looking at the consumption patterns of EDs in more competitive graduate programs such as medical and/or dentistry school should be considered.
Background: To what extent do identified neurons from different animals vary in their expression ... more Background: To what extent do identified neurons from different animals vary in their expression of ion channel genes? In neurons of the same type, is ion channel expression highly variable and/or is there any relationship between ion channel expression that is conserved? Methodology/Principal Findings: To address these questions we measured ion channel mRNA in large cells (LCs) of the crab cardiac ganglion. We cloned a calcium channel, caco, and a potassium channel, shaker. Using single-cell quantitative PCR, we measured levels of mRNA for these and 6 other different ion channels in cardiac ganglion LCs. Across the population of LCs we measured 3-9 fold ranges of mRNA levels, and we found correlations in the expression of many pairs of conductances Conclusions/Significance: In previous measurements from the crab stomatogastric ganglion (STG), ion channel expression was variable, but many pairs of channels had correlated expression. However, each STG cell type had a unique combination of ion channel correlations. Our findings from the crab cardiac ganglion are similar, but the correlations in the LCs are different from those in STG neurons, supporting the idea that such correlations could be markers of cell identity or activity.
Neurosteroids may influence adult behavior and endocrine function since early in development. To ... more Neurosteroids may influence adult behavior and endocrine function since early in development. To test this hypothesis, Sprague-Dawley pups from both sexes were injected with pregnenolone sulfate (PREG-S) from postnatal (PN) day 1 to 14. Pubertal onset in females was determined by monitoring the day of vaginal opening. After vaginal opening, the pattern of estrous cycle was monitored for three consecutive cycles. During adulthood, anxiety and locomotor activity were assessed with an automated elevated plus maze (EPM) and automated activity monitors, respectively. After behavioral assessment, body weight, gonadal weight, and plasma levels of sex hormones were measured. Neonatal exposure to PREG-S produced anxiolytic effects in females but not males. The opposite effect was seen in males, suppression of locomotor behaviors without changes in anxiety. The day of vaginal opening, gonadal weight, and plasma levels of hormones in adult animals were not altered by neonatal treatment. We suggest that PREG-S exposure during neonatal development can have an impact in anxiety and locomotor behaviors during adulthood in a sex-specific manner.
Distintos científicos y profesionales de la salud mental han discutido algunas implicaciones de l... more Distintos científicos y profesionales de la salud mental han discutido algunas implicaciones de las investigaciones en el campo de la neurociencia para la psicología y ciencias afines. Basado en esas observaciones, este artículo presenta 10 fundamentos básicos de la neurociencia para la psicología, a saber: (1) todos los procesos mentales son operaciones cerebrales; (2) los genes establecen conexiones específicas en el cerebro, pero la experiencia modifica esas conexiones; (3) nuestra mente puede cambiar porque el cerebro es plástico; (4) el aprendizaje y las memorias existen en el cerebro; (5) los factores sociales y ambientales contribuyen al desarrollo de enfermedades mentales; (6) las emociones no pueden separarse de la cognición ni del razonamiento; (7) el apego es importante para generar cambios en el cerebro; (8) la imaginación es clave para el aprendizaje; (9) el cerebro maneja información tanto a nivel consciente como inconsciente; y (10) la aplicabilidad del conocimiento neurocientífico a la psicología tiene un componente ético. La práctica de la psicología puede fortalecerse integrando más cursos de neurociencia en los programas graduados de psicología y aumentando el ofrecimiento de cursos de educación continua en neurociencia.
The development of drug addiction progresses along a continuum from acute drug use to compulsive... more The development of drug addiction progresses along a continuum from acute drug use to compulsive use and drug seeking behavior. Many researchers have focused on identifying the physiological mechanisms involved in drug addiction in order to develop effective pharmacotherapies. Neuroplasticity, the putative mechanism underlying learning and memory, is modified by drugs of abuse and may contribute to the development of the eventual addicted state. Innovative treatments directly targeting these drug-induced changes in brain reward components and circuits may be efficacious in reducing drug use and relapse. (Am J Addict 2009;18:259–271)
Background. Substance use disorders (SUD) are a significant health problem affecting executive fu... more Background. Substance use disorders (SUD) are a significant health problem affecting executive function. Neurofeedback training (NFB) allows subjects to voluntarily modulate brain activity, aiming to modify cognitive processes. Studies measuring neuropsychological processes and music have found significant changes in attention, memory, and speech, supporting the notion that music enhances brain functioning. In this study, we measured cognitive processes (decision-making and attention) and emotional regulation aspects in a sample of Puerto Ricans with SUD, before and after participating in NFB-assisted training sessions with or without music. Method. Forty-six residency program patients were assigned to NFB, NFB+Music, or a control group. NFB protocol included reinforcement training of low beta sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) and theta and high beta inhibition at Cz. Results. Data suggest favorable changes in decision-making, attention, inhibitory control, and emotional regulation in the NFB groups. No differences were found in behavioral, self-reported, and EEG data between NFB and NFB+Music. Statistically significant changes on SMR amplitude were observed in both experimental groups. Self-reports underpin participants' relaxation states during NFB sessions. Discussion. NFB training with and without music effectively optimizes executive function; however, NFB+Music seems to have a precise effect on emotion regulation, particularly in emotion expression.
The stomatogastric ganglion (STG) and the cardiac ganglion (CG) of decapod crustaceans are modula... more The stomatogastric ganglion (STG) and the cardiac ganglion (CG) of decapod crustaceans are modulated by neuroactive substances released locally and by circulating hormones released from neuroendocrine structures including the pericardial organs (POs). Using nanoscale liquid chromatography electrospray ionization quadrupole-time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry and direct tissue matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization Fourier transform mass spectrometry we have identified and sequenced a novel neuropeptide, GAHK-NYLRFamide (previously misassigned as KHKNYLRFamide in a study that did not employ peptide derivatization), from the POs and/or the stomatogastric nervous system (STNS) of the crabs, Cancer borealis, Cancer productus and Cancer magister. In C. borealis, exogenous application of GAHKNYLRFamide increased the burst frequency and number of spikes per burst of the isolated CG and re-initiated bursting activity in non-bursting ganglia, effects also elicited by the FMRFamide-like peptides (FLPs) SDRNFLRFamide and TNRNFLRFamide. In the intact STNS (which contains the STG), exogenous application of GAHKNYLRFamide increased the frequency of the pyloric rhythm and activated the gastric mill rhythm, effects also similar to those elicited by SDRNFLRFamide and TNRNFLRFamide. FLP-like immunoreactivity in the POs and the STNS was abolished by pre-adsorption with the synthetic GAHKNYLRFamide. Different members of the FLP family exhibited differential degradation in the presence of extracellular peptidases. Taken collectively, the amino acid sequence of GAHKNYLRFamide, the blocking of FLP-like immunostaining, and its physiological effects on the CG and STNS suggest that this peptide is a novel member of the FLP superfamily.
The lobster heart is synaptically driven by the cardiac ganglion, a spontaneously bursting neural... more The lobster heart is synaptically driven by the cardiac ganglion, a spontaneously bursting neural network residing within the cardiac lumen. Here, we present evidence that nitric oxide (NO) plays an inhibitory role in lobster cardiac physiology. (1) NO decreases heartbeat frequency and amplitude. Decreased frequency is a direct consequence of a decreased ganglionic burst rate. Decreased amplitude is an indirect consequence of decreased burst frequency, attributable to the highly facilitating nature of the synapses between cardiac ganglion neurons and muscle fibers (although, during prolonged exposure to NO, amplitude recovers to the original level by a frequencyindependent adaptation mechanism). NO does not alter burst duration, spikes per burst, heart muscle contractility, or amplitudes of synaptic potentials evoked by stimulating postganglionic motor nerves. Thus, NO acts on the ganglion, but not on heart muscle. (2) Two observations suggest that NO is produced within the lobster heart. First, immunoblot analysis shows that nitric oxide synthase (NOS) is strongly expressed in heart muscle relative to other muscles. Second, L-nitroarginine (L-NA), an NOS inhibitor, increases the rate of the heartbeat (opposite to the effects of NO). In contrast, the isolated ganglion is insensitive to L-NA, suggesting that heart muscle (but not the ganglion) produces endogenous NO. Basal heart rate varies from animal to animal, and L-NA has the greatest effect on the slowest hearts, presumably because these hearts are producing the most NO. Thus, because the musculature is a site of NOS expression, whereas the ganglion is the only intracardiac target of NO, we hypothesize that NO serves as an inhibitory retrograde transmitter.
UMI. ProQuest® Dissertations & Theses The world's most comprehensive collection of dissertati... more UMI. ProQuest® Dissertations & Theses The world's most comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses. Learn more... ProQuest. Neuromodulation of the crustacean heart. by Cruz-Bermudez, Nelson David, PhD, BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY, 2007, 0 pages; 3257990. ...
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