Consuelo Sancho

University of Salamanca · Department of Physiology and Pharmacology

Eslicarbazepine acetate (ESL) is a third-generation antiepileptic drug indicated as monotherapy for adults with newly diagnosed epilepsy and as adjunctive therapy for the treatment of partial seizures. Our aim was to assess the effectiveness and safety of both acute and repeated ESL administration against reflex audiogenic seizures, as shown by the...

Horses are often still exposed to stressful or inadequate conditions and difficult relationships with humans, despite growing concerns about animal welfare. In the present study, we investigated the impact of different approaches of short-term handling sessions on young Lusitanian horses raised on a high-breed farm, specifically on their later adap...

Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is an adjuvant neuromodulation therapy for the treatment of refractory epilepsy. However, the mechanisms behind its effectiveness are not fully understood. Our aim was to develop a VNS protocol for the Genetic Audiogenic Seizure Hamster from Salamanca (GASH/Sal) in order to evaluate the mechanisms of action of the ther...

Despite evidence that supports cannabidiol (CBD) as an anticonvulsant agent, there remains controversy over the antiseizure efficacy, possible adverse effects, and synergistic interactions with classic antiepileptics such as valproate (VPA). The genetic audiogenic seizure hamster from the University of Salamanca (GASH/Sal) is a reliable experimenta...

Abstract Cardiovascular physiology can be simulated in patient simulators but is limited to the simulator monitor curves and parameters, missing some important data that today is known as essential to fluid management and therapeutic decision in critical ill and high-risk surgical patients. Our main objective was to project and implement a unidirec...

Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder characterized by abnormal neuronal activity that arises from imbalances between excitatory and inhibitory synapses, which are highly correlated to functional and structural changes in specific brain regions. The difference between the normal and the epileptic brain may harbor genetic alterations, gene exp...

Background: Anesthesia induction and maintenance with propofol can be guided by target-controlled infusion (TCI) systems using pharmacokinetic (Pk) models. Physiological variables, such as changes in cardiac output (CO), can influence propofol pharmacokinetics. Knee-chest (KC) surgical positioning can result in CO changes. Objectives: This study...

Purpose The elite athlete is fine-tuned all around to deliver favorable results in sporting events. In this study, we address the question of whether basic movements—such as reflexes—and heterogeneous attentional modulation components—such as sensorimotor gating mechanisms—are also tuned up to maximize the results of middle-distance runners in phys...

Background: Induction of anesthesia and the knee-chest position are associated with hemodynamic changes that may impact patient outcomes. The aim of this study was to assess whether planned reductions in target-controlled infusion propofol concentrations attenuate the hemodynamic changes associated with anesthesia induction and knee-chest position...

Background: Sensorimotor integration mechanisms can be affected by many factors, among which are those involving neuromuscular disorders. Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by well-known motor symptoms, among which lately have been included motor speech deficits. Measurement of the acoustic startle reflex (ASR) and its modulations (prepulse...

The noradrenergic locus coeruleus (LC) plays an important role in the promotion and maintenance of arousal and alertness. Our group recently described coerulean projections to cochlear root neurons (CRNs), the first relay of the primary acoustic startle reflex (ASR) circuit. However, the role of the LC in the ASR and its modulation, prepulse inhibi...

Stress is among the most seizure precipitant in epilepsy, however it is not clear yet how stress interact with repeatedly induced seizures, the so-called kindling. In the present, we carried out a research addressed to demonstrate the influence of repetitive acoustic stimulation on different stress-like parameters

Early life stress is a major factor underlying the vulnerability to respond to stressful events later in life. The present study attempted to evaluate the role of prenatal stress affecting the development of stress-related disorders and their reversion by postnatal exposure to Sertraline (SERT), a front-line medication for medication for posttrauma...

Hippotherapy is a therapy using horseback riding as a natural instrument for the physical, psychological or social rehabilitation. It uses the horse’s rhythm and dynamics to influence posture and mobility. The horse’s movement acts as a sensorial discharge, because it is both repetitive and variable in rhythm (Fernández-Gutiérrez et al., 2015). The...

The training of medical students demands practice of skills in scenarios as close as possible to real ones that on one hand ensure acquisition of competencies, and on the other, avoid putting patients at risk. This study shows the practicality of using high definition mannequins (SimMan 3G) in scenarios of first attention in neurological emergencie...

in ”Advances and Perspectives in Neuroscience”

In humans, it has been reported the existence of a high incidence of behavioral abnormalities in children born from mothers during pregnancy were subjected to stressful events such as family conflicts, threat of imminent struggle, death in the family, between others.To go deeper in this field, it is important to have an experimental model to allow...

Advances and Perspectives in Neuroscience”

The present study aimed to investigate the behavioral and anticonvulsant effects of lamotrigine (LTG) on the genetic audiogenic seizure hamster (GASH:Sal), an animal model of audiogenic seizure that is in the validation process. To evaluate the efficiency of acute and chronic treatments with LTG, GASH:Sals were treated with LTG either acutely via i...

The processes of teaching and learning in the health sciences more than justify the use of new education technologies in which clinical simulation helps students to acquire skills and competencies in scenarios similar to those of the real world, but without involving patients physically. The present contribution aims to explore the characteristics...

There has been an increasing importance of studies that link sex to stress coping processes. Recently , we reported that male and female Wistar rats responded differently to prenatal stress (PS) under basal conditions. The aim of the present study was to determine the influence of sex on behaviour and coping strategies, as an effect of gestational...

The serotonergic system in the brain plays a major role in mood and anxiety regulation when exposed to stress. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of Sertraline administration in coping with stress using the behavioural paradigms of the acoustic startle reflex (ASR) and its prepulse inhibition (PPI) in both sexes. Wistar rats w...

The programme book of the the First International Conference “Audiogenic Epilepsy: from Animal Models to the Clinic” contains the proceedings and contributions made by researchers at the conference. The Congress was held at the Neuroscience Institute of Castilla y León (INCyL), Salamanca, Spain, from September 9th – 12th, 2014 and focused on a broa...

Sertraline is a clinically effective Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor known to increase and stabilize serotonin levels. This neurotransmitter plays an important role in adolescent brain development in both rodents and humans, and its dysregulation has been correlated with deficits in behaviour and emotional regulation. Since prenatal stress m...

The study was performed to characterize GASH:SAL audiogenic seizures as true epileptic activity based on electroencephalographic markers acquired with a wireless implanted radiotelemetry system. We analyzed cortical EEG patterns synchronized with video recordings of convulsive behavior of the GASH:Sal hamster following an acoustic stimulus. All GAS...

Epilepsy modeling is essential for understanding the basic mechanisms of the epileptic process. The Genetic Audiogenic Seizure Hamster (GASH:Sal) exhibits generalized tonic-clonic seizures of genetic origin in response to sound stimulation and is currently being validated as a reliable model of epilepsy. Here, we performed a pharmacological and neu...

To study the short-term effect of treatment with quetiapine on prepulse inhibition (PPI) deficits of the startle reflex in schizophrenia patients. Using PPI, we studied a group of 21 schizophrenia patients and 16 controls. Seventeen of the patients were re-tested with PPI after 21 days of treatment with quetiapine. At baseline, an almost significan...

Sensorimotor gating deficits are relevant in schizophrenia and can be measured using prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the startle reflex. It is conceivable that such deficits may hinder the cognitive functions in schizophrenia patients. In this study, using PPI and a neuropsychological battery, we studied this possibility in a group of 23 acute, neurol...

Taking into account that most of the experimental research into the effects of antipsychotic drugs has mainly focused on behavioural aspects, the aim of the present work is to investigate the effects of a chronic therapeutic dose of risperidone (1 mg/kg/day during 140 days) on both behavioural and morphological aspects in healthy rats. The behaviou...

Processes underlying cortical hypoactivation in schizophrenia are poorly understood but some evidence suggests that a deficient sensory filtering is associated with the condition. This filtering deficit can be studied by using measures of prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the startle reflex. To evaluate the contribution of sensory filtering deficits to...

Previous reports show different cerebral activity patterns during treatment with clozapine and typical neuroleptics. However, to date no study has directly compared the brain activity patterns while subjects are undergoing treatment with clozapine and other atypical antipsychotics. This comparison is of interest, given the probably different mechan...

Verapamil (0.17 microg kg(-1) min(-1) intravenous, i.v.) but not elgodipine (35 ng kg(-1) min(-1)) modestly enhanced the weak blood glucose increase induced by the i.v. infusion of isoprenaline (0.3 microg kg(-1) min(-1)) in conscious rabbits. However, elgodipine but not verapamil suppressed the increase in circulating insulin evoked by the agonist...

1. In conscious fasted rabbits the insulin secretory response induced by the intravenous infusion of the alpha1-adrenoceptor agonist, amidephrine (10 microg kg(-1) min(-1)) was blocked by the simultaneous administration of clonidine (2 microg kg(-1) min(-1) i.v.). 2. The excitatory effect of amidephrine (10 microg kg(-1) min(-1)) on insulin secreti...

Acetylcholine (ACh, 100 microM)-evoked catecholamine release from perfused bovine adrenal glands was unaffected by CTX (0.3 microM) and depressed 70% by nisoldipine (1 microM). Combined CTX plus nisoldipine did not inhibit further the secretory response K+ (150 mM)-evoked secretion was diminished 30% by CTX and 20% by nisoldipine. Combined CTX plus...

1. The application of an alpha 1-adrenoceptor agonist, amidephrine, to guinea-pig liver slices increases glucose release and 86Rb efflux. Since prazosin was more potent than yohimbine in inhibiting both responses, alpha 1-adrenoceptors seem to be involved in the effects evoked by the agonist. 2. Clonidine (an alpha 2-adrenoceptor agonist) at doses...

The dog liver glycogenolytic response to isoprenaline (EC50 = 3 x 10(-9) M) was selectively blocked by 10(-5) M of practolol, but not by butoxamine. In contrast, the glycogenolytic response to isoprenaline (EC50 = 3 x 10(-7) M) was inhibited by 10(-6) M of butoxamine, but not by practolol, in the guinea-pig liver. This suggests that, in the dog, th...

The effects of 17-alpha-estradiol on the secretion of catecholamines from the perfused bovine and cat adrenal gland and bovine chromaffin cells in culture elicited by dimethylphenylpiperazinium (DMPP), methacholine and high potassium were studied. In perfused cat adrenal glands, secretion of catecholamines evoked by pulses of DMPP (1 microM for 30...