Institute of Cellular and Integrative Neurosciences

The International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD) Chronobiology and Chronotherapy Task Force conducted a comprehensive review to deliver concise evidence-based recommendations on the use of bright light therapy (BLT) for bipolar disorder (BD). Adjunctive BLT is likely an efficacious acute treatment for bipolar depression as implicated by higher quality evidence. The position of maintenance BLT for relapse prevention awaits further investigation. Protocols of effective BLT in BD are similar to parameters indicated for treatment of seasonal and non-seasonal major depressive disorder. Anti-manic prophylaxis (especially for BD-I) and clinical monitoring are recommended with initiation of and ongoing light treatment. Administer BLT daily, preferably in the morning or at mid-day. If mornings are prohibitive, then mid-day exposure, implemented to avoid excessively early wake times, is an acceptable alternative. Informed by the literature, target 30 min/day of BLT exposure. Patients wary of emergent hypomania or partial responders, can initiate 15 min/day and increase by 15 min each week to full response (or 30-60 min/day by the fourth week). Consider patient centred outcome assessments to evaluate mood response, safety and side effects. Clinical improvement is typically observed within 1-2 weeks, with response/remission expected by 4-6 weeks. Integration of BLT with other chronotherapeutic strategies may enhance long-term efficacy.

We aimed to evaluate (1) fathers' perceptions and care involvement for their very premature infants and their views of the hospitalization period based on parental reports and (2) their evolution over time. We used an online parental survey to assess answers from parents of very preterm infants who were successfully discharged from French neonatal units. We analysed answers from February 2014 to January 2019 to an anonymous internet-based survey from the GREEN committee of the French Neonatal Society. Responses were compared for period 1 (P1, 1998 to 2013) and period 2 (P2, 2014 to 2019). We analyzed 2,483 surveys, 124 (5%) from fathers and 2,359 (95%) from mothers. At birth, 1,845 (80%) fathers were present in the hospital, but only 879 (38%) were near the mother. The presence of fathers in the NICU increased from P1 to P2 (34.5% vs. 43.1%, p = 0.03). Nearly two thirds of fathers accompanied their infants during transfer to the NICU (1,204 fathers, 60.6%). Fathers and mothers had similar perceptions regarding relationships with caregivers and skin-to-skin contact with their infants. However, more fathers than mothers felt welcome in the NICU and in care involvement regarding requests for their wishes when they met their infant (79% vs. 60%, p = 0.02) and in the presentation of the NICU (91% vs. 76%; p = 0.03). Mothers and fathers significantly differed in the caring procedures they performed (p = 0.01), procedures they did not perform but wanted to perform (p < 0.001), and procedures they did not perform and did not want to perform (p < 0.01). Most fathers were present at the births of their very preterm infants, but fewer fathers were near the mother at this time. Less than two thirds of fathers accompanied their infants to the NICU. There should be further changes to better meet the specific needs of the fathers of infants requiring care in the NICU. Continuing assessment with an online questionnaire may be useful to monitor changes over time in father's involvement in NICUs.

This psychometric pilot study aims to evaluate a new multidimensional simple scale, named the nightmare severity index (NSI) - close to the existing insomnia (ISI) and hypersomnia (HSI) severity indexes. The NSI encompasses all main dimensions of nightmare disorder, evaluating four subdimensions: frequency, emotional impact, diurnal impact, and nocturnal impact of nightmares. The NSI was completed by a total of 102 patients. The majority of the population consisted of women (64%) and outpatient individuals (76%) diagnosed with mood disorders such as depression (31%) and bipolar disorder (41%). Comorbidity with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was prevalent (44%), and psychotropic medications were commonly used (47%). Internal validity analyses indicated that the NSI was well suited for exploratory factor analysis. All items demonstrated satisfactory correlations with the factors, and the questionnaire exhibited good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha >0.7). Higher NSI scores were observed among individuals experiencing nightmare symptoms considering the DSM-5/ICSD-3 criteria. In summary, the NSI proves to be a promising and valuable tool for clinical practice, demonstrating good acceptability, internal validity, and the ability to assess nightmare severity.

ABSTRACT The dromedary camel (Camelus dromedarius) is a large ungulate that copes well with the xeric environment of the desert. Its peculiar adaptation to heat and dehydration is well-known. However, its behavior and general activity is far from being completely understood. The present study was carried out to investigate the ecological effect of the various seasons on the locomotor activity (LA) rhythm and diurnal activity of this species. Six adult female camels were maintained under mesic semi-natural conditions of the environment during four periods of 10 days in each season: autumn, winter, spring and summer. In addition, three female camels were used to test the effect of rain on the LA rhythm during a period of 18 days during the winter. The animal’s LA was recorded using the locomotion scoring method. Camels displayed a clear 24.0h LA rhythm throughout the four seasons. Activity was intense during Day-time (6–22 fold higher in comparison to night) and dropped or completely disappeared during nighttime. Mean daytime total activity was significantly higher in the summer as compared to winter. Regardless of the season, the active phase in camels coincided with the time of the photophase and thermophase. Furthermore, the daily duration of the time spent active was directly correlated to the seasonal changes of photoperiod. The diurnal activity remained unchanged over the four seasons. For each season, the start and the end of the active phase were synchronized with the onset of sunrise and sunset. At these time periods, temperature remained incredibly stable with a change ranging from 0.002 to 0.210°C; whereas, changes of light intensity were greater and faster with a change from 0.1 to 600 lux representing a variation of 3215–7192 fold in just 25–29 min. Rainfall affected the pattern of the LA rhythm with occurrence of abnormal nocturnal activity during nighttime disturbing nocturnal rest and sleep. Here we show that the dromedary camel exhibits significant seasonal changes of its activity within daylight hours. However, the diurnal pattern remains unchanged regardless of the season; whereas, abnormal nocturnal activity is observed during periods of rain. The activity onset and offset in this species seems to be primarily driven by the changes in light intensity at dusk and dawn.

Abstract Monoterpenes are small molecules, composed of two isoprene units, able to pass through the blood brain barrier, allowing to target both peripheral and central pain pathways. They are the main components of essential oils, responsible for their diverse well-known biological activities. Menthol, the main monoterpene found in Mentha piperita (L.) is known to modulate nociceptive threshold and is present in different curative preparations that reduces sensory hypersensitivities in pain conditions. While pulegone is a menthol-like monoterpene, only a limited number of studies focuses on its putative analgesic effects. Pulegone is the most abundant monoterpene presents in Calamintha nepeta (L.), a Laminaceae plant used in traditional medicine to alleviate rheumatic disorders, a chronic inflammatory disease. Here, we compared the impacts of menthol and pulegone on pain and inflammation. First, we described that both monoterpenes are anti-inflammatory compounds. Secondly, we found that while menthol is highly cytotoxic at anti-inflammatory concentrations, the cytotoxic effects of pulegone are limited, if not absent. Finally, in a model of peripheral inflammatory-induced pain a pulegone treatment exerts a significantly higher anti-hyperalgesic effect than menthol in response to mechanical stimuli, heat and cold thermal stimulations than a menthol treatment. In conclusion we demonstrated that pulegone is an anti-inflammatory compound and it is acting a potent pain-killer in acute inflammatory pain condition.

Retinal photoreceptors undergo daily renewal of their distal outer segments, a process indispensable for maintaining retinal health. Photoreceptor outer segment (POS) phagocytosis occurs as a daily peak, roughly about 1hour after light onset. However, the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms which initiate this process are still unknown. Here we show that, under constant darkness, mice deficient for core circadian clock genes (Per1 and Per2) lack a daily peak in POS phagocytosis. By qPCR analysis, we found that core clock genes were rhythmic over 24hours in both WT and Per1, Per2 double mutant whole retinas. More precise transcriptomics analysis of laser capture microdissected WT photoreceptors revealed no differentially expressed genes between time points preceding and during the peak of POS phagocytosis. In contrast, we found that microdissected WT retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) had a number of genes that were differentially expressed at the peak phagocytic time point compared to adjacent ones. We also found a number of differentially expressed genes in Per1, Per2 double mutant RPE compared to WT ones at the peak phagocytic time point. Finally, based on STRING analysis, we found a group of interacting genes that potentially drive POS phagocytosis in the RPE. This potential pathway consists of genes such as: Pacsin1, Syp, Camk2b, and Camk2d among others. Our findings indicate that Per1 and Per2 are necessary clock components for driving POS phagocytosis and suggest that this process is transcriptionally driven by the RPE.