Sandra Montagud Romero

• University of Valencia

Extracellular vesicles derived from mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC-EVs) have emerged as a promising form of regenerative and immunomodulatory therapy; indeed, micro (mi)RNAs contained within MSC-EVs modulate target gene expression and impact disease-associated pathways. Chronic alcohol consumption results in neuroinflammation, brain damage, and imp...

Oleoylethanolamide (OEA) is a lipid with anti-inflammatory activity that modulates multiple reward-related behaviors. Previous studies have shown that OEA treatment reduces alcohol self-administration (SA) while inhibiting alcohol-induced inflammatory signaling. Nevertheless, the specific mechanisms that OEA targets to achieve these effects have no...

It is essential to develop theories and models that enable us to understand addiction’s genesis and maintenance, providing a theoretical and empirical framework for designing more effective interventions. Numerous clinical and preclinical research studies have investigated the various brain and physiological mechanisms involved in addictive behavio...

The endocannabinoid system is involved in multiple drug-related behavior as well as in the stress response. The transient increase in endogenous cannabinoids as well as endocannabinoid-like molecules contributes to healthy adaptation to stress exposure. In this study, we tested the effect of systemic OEA treatment (10mg/kg) before or after social d...

Oleoylethanolamide (OEA) is a lipid with anti-inflammatory activity that modulates multiple reward-related behaviors. Previous studies have shown that OEA treatment reduces alcohol self-administration (SA) while inhibiting alcohol-induced inflammatory signaling. Nevertheless, the specific mechanisms that OEA is targeting to achieve these effects ha...

Con la irrupción de las TIC en las aulas, tener habilidades a nivel digital y transmitir estas competencias al alumnado resulta fundamental para lograr las aptitudes académicas. Como objetivo se planteó: a) evaluar la competencia digital del profesorado, b) determinar si existe una correspondencia entre la autoevaluación realizada por el profesorad...

Background Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are heterogeneous membrane vesicles secreted by cells in extracellular spaces that play an important role in intercellular communication under both normal and pathological conditions. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are anti‐inflammatory and immunoregulatory cells capable of secreting EVs, which are considered p...

Rationale Social stress contributes to the development of depressive and anxiety symptomatology and promotes pro-inflammatory signaling in the central nervous system. In this study, we explored the effects of a lipid messenger with anti-inflammatory properties – oleoylethanolamide (OEA) – on the behavioral deficits caused by social stress in both m...

The lipid oleoylethanolamide (OEA) has been shown to affect reward-related behavior. However, there is limited experimental evidence about the specific neurotransmission systems OEA may be affecting to exert this modulatory effect. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of OEA on the rewarding properties of cocaine and relapse-related ge...

The lipid-derived messenger oleoylethanolamide (OEA) has been involved in multiple physiological functions including metabolism and the immune response. More recently, OEA has been observed to affect reward-related behavior. Stress is a major risk factor for drug use and a predictor of drug relapse. In the laboratory, social stress has been largely...

Introduction: Drug abuse and binge eating have been characterized as part of the so-called intermittent excessive behaviors, which share common neurobiological pathways. University students come from very different areas to access higher education, for example, rural environments, where some habits, education, and recreational options differ from t...

El profesorado universitario recibe un gran volumen de emails provenientes del alumnado, lo que implica una importante carga de trabajo. El presente estudio planteó como objetivo determinar si la contestación a las dudas de aprendizaje del alumnado con notas de audio permitía disminuir el tiempo dedicado por el profesorado a esta tarea. Además, se...

Despite the importance of reading literacy in adulthood, research in this field in Spanish-speaking countries is limited due to the lack of a valid tool to assess adults' reading comprehension in their native language. Thus, we aimed to adapt the Deep Cloze test by Jensen and Elbro (2022) to Spanish and validate it. 453 undergraduate students from...

The immune system provides the first line of the organism's defenses, working to maintain homeostasis against external threats and respond also to internal danger signals. There is much evidence to suggest that modifications of inflammatory parameters are related to vulnerability to develop mental illnesses, such as depression, autism, schizophreni...

Many of the various factors, characteristics, and variables involved in the addictive process can determine an individual's vulnerability to develop drug addiction. Hedonic eating, based on pleasure rather than energy needs, modulates the same reward circuits, as do drugs of abuse. According to the last report of the World Health Organization, the...

Stress is one of the main risk factors that can induce humans to develop disorders such as depression, anxiety, or drug use. One of the main sources of stress is social interaction, which can lead to situations such as bullying at school or at work. In this article we will review the close relationship between exposure to stressful situations and i...

Alcohol binge drinking (BD) and poor nutritional habits are two frequent behaviors among many adolescents that alter gut microbiota in a pro-inflammatory direction. Dysbiotic changes in the gut microbiome are observed after alcohol and high-fat diet (HFD) consumption, even before obesity onset. In this study, we investigate the neuroinflammatory re...

Background Substance use disorders and social stress are currently associated with changes in the immune system response by which they induce a proinflammatory state in neurons and glial cells that eventually modulates the reward system. Aims The aim of the present work was to assess the role of the immune TLR4 (Toll-like receptors 4) and its sign...

Adolescence is a brain maturation developmental period during which remodeling and changes in synaptic plasticity and neural connectivity take place in some brain regions. Different mechanism participates in adolescent brain maturation, including autophagy that plays a role in synaptic development and plasticity. Alcohol is a neurotoxic compound an...

Backgroud: Prenatal alcohol exposure is a leading cause of neurobehavioral and neurocognitive deficits collectively known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), including eating disorders and increased risk for substance abuse as very common issues. In this context, the present study aimed to assess the interaction between alcohol exposure du...

Alcohol interferes with foetal development and prenatal alcohol exposure can lead to adverse effects known as foetal alcohol spectrum disorders. We aimed to assess the underlying neurobiological mechanisms involved in alcohol intake and withdrawal in adolescent mice exposed to alcohol during early life stages, in discrete brain areas. Pregnant C57B...

Alcohol exposure during development produces physical and mental abnormalities in the foetus that result in long-term molecular adjustments in the brain, which could underlie the neurobehavioural deficits observed in individuals suffering from foetal alcohol spectrum disorders. In this study, we assessed the effects of curcumin on cognitive impairm...

Background and Purpose Alcohol exposure in utero may lead to a wide range of long‐lasting morphological and behavioural deficiencies known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), associated with a higher risk of later developing neuropsychiatric disorders. However, little is known about the long‐term consequences of cocaine use and abuse in ind...

Rationale Previous studies have demonstrated that repeated social defeat (RSD) stress only induces cognitive deficits when experienced during adulthood. However, RSD increases cocaine-rewarding effects in adult and adolescent mice, inducing different expressions of proBDNF in the ventral tegmental area. Objective The aim of the present study was t...

Social stress is associated with higher vulnerability to drug use, as it enhances the reinforcing effects of psychostimulants in rodents. Furthermore, continued or severe stress induces a proinflammatory state of microglial activation and augmented cytokine production. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the role of fractalkine [C-X3-C moti...

Background Alcohol exposure during development has detrimental effects, including a wide range of physical, cognitive and neurobehavioural anomalies known as foetal alcohol spectrum disorders. However, alcohol consumption among pregnant woman is an ongoing latent health problem. Aim In the present study, the effects of trichostatin A (TSA) on emot...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0209291.].

It is well established that repeated social defeat stress can induce negative long-term consequences such as increased anxiety-like behavior and enhances the reinforcing effect of psychostimulants in rodents. In the current study, we evaluated how the immune system may play a role in these long-term effects of stress. A total of 148 OF1 mice were d...

IL-6 concentration data. (XLSX)

EPM experimental data. (XLSX)

CPP experimental data. (XLSX)

The experience of social stress during adolescence is associated with higher vulnerability to drug use. Increases in the acquisition of cocaine self-administration, in the escalation of cocaine-seeking behavior, and in the conditioned rewarding effects of cocaine have been observed in rodents exposed to repeated social defeat (RSD). In addition, pr...

Experimental data. (XLSX)

Rationale: Prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the startle reflex is a model of pre-attentional inhibitory function. The dopamine baseline in the nucleus accumbens plays a key role in PPI regulation as well as in the rewarding effects of cocaine. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive ability of PPI to identify the more vulner...

Social interaction is known to be the main source of stress in human beings, which explains the translational importance of this research in animals. Evidence reported over the last decade has revealed that, when exposed to social defeat experiences (brief episodes of social confrontations during adolescence and adulthood), the rodent brain undergo...

Binge eating is a specific form of overeating characterized by intermittent, excessive eating. To date, several studies have addressed the effects that bingeing on fat has on the rewarding effects of drugs of abuse, but they have found contradictory and highly variable results. Housing conditions could modulate these results, as most studies employ...

RationalePreclinical studies report that free access to a high-fat diet (HFD) alters the response to psychostimulants. Objectives The aim of the present study was to examine how HFD exposure during adolescence modifies cocaine effects. Gene expression of CB1 and mu-opioid receptors (MOr) in the nucleus accumbens (N Acc) and prefrontal cortex (PFC)...

Background Inflammation during brain development participates in the pathogenesis of early brain injury and cognitive dysfunctions. Prenatal ethanol exposure affects the developing brain and causes neural impairment, cognitive and behavioral effects, collectively known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Our previous studies demonstrate tha...

RationaleRepeated social defeat (RSD) increases the rewarding effects of cocaine in adolescent and adult rodents. Objective The aim of the present study was to compare the long-term effects of RSD on the conditioned rewarding effects of cocaine and levels of the transcription factors Pitx3 and Nurr1 in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), the dopamine...

Psychiatric disorders constitute one of the main causes of disability worldwide. During the past years, considerable research has been conducted on the genetic architecture of such diseases, although little understanding of their etiology has been achieved. The difficulty to access up-to-date, relevant genotype-phenotype information has hampered th...

Binge-eating is considered a specific form of overeating characterized by intermittent and high caloric food intake in a short period of time. Epidemiologic studies support a positive relation between the ingestion of fat and ethanol (EtOH), specifically among adolescent subjects. The aim of this work was to clarify the role of the compulsive, limi...

Binge eating is a specific form of overeating characterized by intermittent excessive eating. In addition to altering the neurobiological reward system, several studies have highlighted that consumption of palatable food increases vulnerability to drug use. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of a high-fat diet consumed in a bi...

Social stress modifies the activity of brain areas involved in the rewarding effects of psychostimulants, inducing neuroadaptations in the dopaminergic mesolimbic system and modifying the sensitivity of dopamine receptors. In the present study we evaluated the effect of the dopamine D1- and D2-like receptor antagonists (SCH23390 and raclopride, res...

Rationale Intermittent social defeat stress engenders persistent neuroadaptations and can result in later increased cocaine taking and seeking. However, there are individual differences in stress-escalated cocaine self-administration behavior, which may be a direct result of individual differences in the manner in which rats experience social defea...

Numerous studies report that social defeat stress alters dopamine (DA) neurotransmission in several areas of the brain. Alterations of the mesolimbic dopaminergic pathway are believed to be responsible for the increased vulnerability to drug use observed as a result of social stress. In the present study, we evaluated the influence of DA receptors...

Social defeat (SD) induces a long-lasting increase in the rewarding effects of psychostimulants measured using the self-administration and conditioned place procedures (CPP). However, little is known about the epigenetic changes induced by social stress and about their role in the increased response to the rewarding effects of psychostimulants. Con...

Unlabelled: Intermittent social defeat stress escalates later cocaine self-administration. Reward and stress both activate ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine neurons, increasing downstream extracellular dopamine concentration in the medial prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens. The stress neuropeptide corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) and...

Novelty seeking (NS), defined as a tendency to pursue novel and intense emotional sensations and experiences, is one of the most relevantindividual factors predicting drug use among humans. High novelty seeking (HNS) individuals present an increased risk of drug use compared to low novelty seekers. The NS endophenotype mayexplain some of the differ...

Social stress in adulthood enhances cocaine self-administration, an effect that has been related with an increase in extracellular signal-regulated kinase and p38α mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphorylation. A detrimental effect of cocaine on blood-brain barrier (BBB) integrity has also been reported. This study evaluates the effects of repea...

Social behaviour is disturbed in many substance abuse and psychiatric disorders. Given the consensus that social behaviours of lower mammals may help to understand some human emotional reactions, the aim of the present work was to provide an up-to-date review of studies on the changes in social behaviour induced by drugs of abuse. Various animal mo...

Stressful experiences modify activity in areas of the brain involved in the rewarding effects of psychostimulants. In the present study we evaluated the influence of acute social defeat (ASD) on the conditioned rewarding effects of cocaine in adolescent (PND 29-32) and adult (PND 50-53) male mice in the conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm....

The aim of the present study was to investigate if a novelty-seeking phenotype mediates the long-lasting consequences of intermittent EtOH intoxication during adolescence. The hole board test was employed to classify adolescent mice as High- or Low-Novelty Seekers. Subsequently, animals were administered ethanol (1.25 or 2.5 g/kg) on two consecutiv...

Psychostimulant addiction, most notably cocaine and amphetamine - type stimulants are an important public health problem worldwide. It appears that social factors may influence the initiation, maintenance and recovery from addictions. Several animal models have been developed to study addiction, highlighting drug self-administration (SA) and the co...

Drug addiction is a chronic relapsing multifactorial disorder arising as a result of theinteraction between biological and environmental factors and characterized by a loss ofcontrol over use of the drug. It has been repeatedly demonstrated that stress is a riskfactor for the initiation and maintenance of drug consumption and for relapse afterdetox...