Depression, anxiety and conduct disorders are common in children and adolescents and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are often used to treat these conditions. Fluoxetine (Prozac) is the first approved SSRI for the treatment of depression in this population. Although it is believed that overall, fluoxetine is effective in child and adolescent psychiatry, there have been reports of specific adverse drug effects; most prominently suicidality and psychiatric symptoms such as agitation, worsening of depression and anxiety. Chronic fluoxetine substantially increases brain extracellular 5-HT concentrations and the juvenile developing brain may respond to supraphysiological 5-HT levels with specific adverse effects not seen or less prominent in adult brain. Using novelty induced hypophagia (NIH), as well as open field (OF) and elevated plus maze (EPM) tests, we show that both Swiss Webster (SW) and C57Bl/6 (B6) mice, receiving fluoxetine in a clinically relevant dose and during their juvenile age corresponding to child-adolescent period in human, exhibit a paradoxical anxiogenic response. The adverse effects of juvenile fluoxetine disappeared upon drug discontinuation and no long term behavioral consequences were apparent. No adverse effect to chronic fluoxetine was seen in adult mice and a dose dependent anxiolytic effect developed. These data show that the age of the mice, independently of the strains and tests used in this study, is the determining factor of whether the response to chronic fluoxetine is anxiolytic or anxiogenic. Taken together, the response of the juvenile and adult brain to fluoxetine could be fundamentally different and the juvenile fluoxetine administration mouse model described here may help to identify the mechanism underlying this difference.

Low serotonin 1A receptor (5-HT 1A R) binding is a risk factor for anxiety and depression, and deletion of the 5-HT 1A R results in anxiety-like behavior in mice. Here we show that anxiety-like behavior in mice also can be caused, independently of the offspring's own 5-HT 1A R genotype, by a receptor deficit in the mother: a nongenetic transmission of a genetic defect. Some of the nongenetically transmitted anxiety manifestations were acquired prenatally and linked to a delay in dentate gyrus maturation in the ventral hippocampus of the offspring. Both the developmental delay and the anxiety-like phenotype were phenocopied by the genetic inactivation of p16 ink4a encoding a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor implicated in neuronal precursor differentiation. No maternal 5-HT 1A R genotype-dependent anxiety developed when the strain background was switched from Swiss Webster to C57BL/6, consistent with the increased resilience of this strain to early adverse environment. Instead, all anxiety manifestations were caused by the offspring's own receptor deficiency, indicating that the genetic and nongenetic effects converge to common anxiety manifestations. We propose that 5-HT 1A R deficit represents a dual risk for anxiety and that vulnerability to anxiety associated with genetic 5-HT 1A R deficiency can be transmitted by both genetic and nongenetic mechanisms in a population. Thus, the overall effect of risk alleles can be higher than estimated by traditional genetic assays and may contribute to the relatively high heritability of anxiety and psychiatric disorders in general.genetic risk | heritability | cross-fostering S tudies have identified mutant/polymorphic variants of genes, each with a relatively small contribution to the risk of depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and other psychiatric diseases. However, demonstrable genetic influences explain only a small fraction of estimated heritability in psychiatric conditions. This "missing heritability" could be caused by a large number of undiscovered alleles or by mechanisms that amplify the effect of risk alleles but are not genetic in nature. We tested the hypothesis that mutant/polymorphic variants can have a larger effect if, besides their purely genetic effect, they have an additional "environmental" effect. For example, gene variants could influence maternal physiology, affecting the developmental program of the offspring, and consequently also increasing the risk for psychopathology. Indeed, adverse prenatal maternal and/or postnatal environment increases vulnerability to various diseases, including psychiatric disorders, in adulthood (1, 2), and one may extrapolate these findings to an abnormal maternal/parental environment related to disease-associated genes/gene variants.One of the few candidate genes whose function has been associated with anxiety and depression encodes the serotonin 1A receptor (5-HT 1A R) (3). Reduced binding or binding potential in the 5-HT 1A R has been linked to posttraumatic stress and panic disorders (3) and depression (4), and a...

This study investigated the profiles of volatile compounds produced by Lactobacillus paracasei during oat fermentation using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry coupled with headspace solid-phase microextraction method. A total of 60 compounds, including acids, alcohols, aldehydes, esters, furan derivatives, hydrocarbons, ketones, sulfur-containing compounds, terpenes, and other compounds, were identified in fermented oat. Lipid oxidation products such as 2-pentylfuran, 1-octen-3-ol, hexanal, and nonanal were found to be the main contributors to oat samples fermented by L. paracasei with the level of 2-pentylfuran being the highest. In addition, the contents of ketones, alcohols, acids, and furan derivatives in the oat samples consistently increased with the fermentation time. On the other hand, the contents of degradation products of amino acids, such as 3-methylbutanal, benzaldehyde, acetophenone, dimethyl sulfide, and dimethyl disulfide, decreased in oat samples during fermentation. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to discriminate the fermented oat samples according to different fermentation times. The fermented oats were clearly differentiated on PCA plots. The initial fermentation stage was mainly affected by aldehydes, whereas the later samples of fermented oats were strongly associated with acids, alcohols, furan derivatives, and ketones. The application of PCA to data of the volatile profiles revealed that the oat samples fermented by L. paracasei could be distinguished according to fermentation time.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by a lack of social communication and restrictive, repetitive behaviors or interests. This study aimed to examine the mealtime behaviors and food preferences of students with ASD. An online questionnaire on mealtime behavior and food preferences of ASD students was conducted by caregivers including parents, and the average age of ASD students was 14.1 ± 6.1. The analysis of mealtime behavior resulted in classification into three clusters: cluster 1, the “low-level problematic mealtime behavior group”; cluster 2, the “mid-level problematic mealtime behavior group”; and cluster 3, the “high-level problematic mealtime behavior group”. Cluster 1 included older students than other clusters and their own specific dietary rituals. Meanwhile, cluster 3 included younger students than other clusters, high-level problematic mealtime behavior, and a low preference for food. In particular, there were significant differences in age and food preference for each subdivided ASD group according to their eating behaviors. Therefore, the content and method of nutrition education for ASD students’ needs a detailed approach according to the characteristics of each group.

Vegetarianism is on the rise worldwide and its importance is being emphasized in various ways, such as in its sustainability, environmental, food system, and ethical aspects. The purpose of the study is to identify motivations behind food choices and dietarian identity, to investigate the perceptions about plant-based foods, and to identify differences between vegetarians and omnivores. We conducted an online survey of 245 vegetarians and 246 omnivores. There was a significant difference between vegetarians and omnivores. In food choice motivations, vegetarians scored higher in the factors of ‘ethical concern’, ‘health’, and ‘convenience and price’, while omnivores responded higher in ‘sensory appeal’ and ‘weight control’ factors. In the dietarian identity, vegetarians scored higher in the ‘complex motivation’ and ‘strictness’ factors, while on the other hand omnivores scored higher in ‘out-group regard’ and ‘public regard’ factors. Although the reasons are different, we confirmed that both vegetarians and omnivores favor plant-based foods. Our results suggest that different strategies will be needed to promote plant-based food consumption to vegetarians and to omnivores.