Mariacristina Mazzitelli

Mariacristina Mazzitelli
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center | TTUHSC · Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience

Doctor of Philosophy

About

16
Publications
2,697
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783
Citations
Introduction
Mariacristina Mazzitelli currently works as a Post Doc in the Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, TX, USA.

Publications

Publications (16)
Article
Full-text available
We used light-sensitive drugs to identify the brain region-specific role of mGlu5 metabotropic glutamate receptors in the control of pain. Optical activation of systemic JF-NP-26, a caged, normally inactive, negative allosteric modulator (NAM) of mGlu5 receptors, in cingulate, prelimbic, and infralimbic cortices and thalamus inhibited neuropathic p...
Article
Full-text available
Introduction: Pain is a clinically relevant health care issue with limited therapeutic options, creating the need for new and improved analgesic strategies. The amygdala is a limbic brain region critically involved in the regulation of emotional-affective components of pain and in pain modulation. The central nucleus of amygdala (CeA) serves major...
Preprint
Full-text available
Knowing the site of drug action is important to optimize effectiveness and address any side effects. We used light-sensitive drugs to identify the brain region-specific role of mGlu5 metabotropic glutamate receptors in the control of pain. Optical activation of systemic JF-NP-26, a caged, normally inactive, negative allosteric modulator (NAM) of mG...
Article
Full-text available
Metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR or mGlu) are G-protein coupled receptors activated by the binding of glutamate, the main classical neurotransmitter of the nervous system. Eight different mGluR subtypes (mGluR1-8) have been cloned and are classified in three groups based on their molecular, pharmacological and signaling properties. mGluRs me...
Article
The amygdala plays a critical role in the emotional-affective component of pain and pain modulation. The central nucleus of amygdala (CeA) serves major output functions and has been linked to pain-related behaviors. Corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) in the CeA has emerged as an important modulator of pain and affective disorders. Here we measure...
Article
Despite the overwhelming female-predominance in chronic pain disorders, preclinical pain studies have historically excluded females as research subjects. Male-biased explanations of pathological pain mechanisms may not fully translate to pain processes in females, necessitating the exploration of pain processing and modulation in both sexes at the...
Article
Full-text available
The amygdala is an important neural substrate for the emotional–affective dimension of pain and modulation of pain. The central nucleus (CeA) serves major amygdala output functions and receives nociceptive and affected–related information from the spino-parabrachial and lateral–basolateral amygdala (LA–BLA) networks. The CeA is a major site of extr...
Article
Neuropeptides play important modulatory roles throughout the nervous system, functioning as direct effectors or as interacting partners with other neuropeptide and neurotransmitter systems. Limbic brain areas involved in learning, memory and emotions are particularly rich in neuropeptides. This review will focus on the amygdala, a limbic region tha...
Article
The chronic constriction injury (CCI) of the sciatic nerve is a nerve injury‐based model of neuropathic pain (NP). Comorbidities of NP such as depression, anxiety, and cognitive deficits are associated with a functional reorganization of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Here, we have employed an adapted model of CCI by placing one single loose...
Article
The amygdala plays a critical role in emotional-affective aspects of behaviors and pain modulation. The central nucleus of amygdala (CeA) serves major output functions, and neuroplasticity in the CeA is linked to pain-related behaviors in different models. Activation of Gi/o-coupled group II metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs), which consist...
Article
Full-text available
This study investigated whether metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) 5 and 8 are involved in the effect of ultramicronizedpalmitoylethanolamide (um-PEA) on the cognitive behavior and long term potentiation (LTP) at entorhinal cortex (LEC)-dentate gyrus (DG) pathway in mice rendered neuropathic by the spare nerve injury (SNI). SNI reduced discrim...
Article
Full-text available
Glutamate is the main excitatory neurotransmitter in the nervous system and plays a critical role in nociceptive processing and pain modulation. G-protein coupled metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) are widely expressed in the central and peripheral nervous system, and they mediate neuronal excitability and synaptic transmission. Eight differ...
Article
Full-text available
The mechanisms underlying neuropathic pain are poorly understood. Here we show the unexplored role of the hydroxyl carboxylic acid receptor type 2 (HCAR2) in 2 models of neuropathic pain. We used an oral treatment with dimethyl fumarate and the HCAR2 endogenous ligand β‐hydroxybutyrate (BHB) in wild‐type (WT) and HCAR2‐null mice. We found an up‐reg...
Article
The microbiota-gut-brain axis (MGBA) regulates the reciprocal interaction between chronic inflammatory bowel and psychiatric disorders. This interaction involves multiple pathways that are highly debated. We examined the behavioural, biochemical and electrophysiological alterations, as well as gut microbiota composition in a model of antibiotic-ind...

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