Alice Wagenaar-Tison, Zoha Deldar, Antoine Bergeron, Benjamin Provencher, Stéphane Northon, Nabi Rustamov, Isabelle Blanchette, Sylvain Sirois, Mathieu Piché
{"title":"Pupil dilation evoked by painful electrical stimulation is abolished during pain inhibition by distraction.","authors":"Alice Wagenaar-Tison, Zoha Deldar, Antoine Bergeron, Benjamin Provencher, Stéphane Northon, Nabi Rustamov, Isabelle Blanchette, Sylvain Sirois, Mathieu Piché","doi":"10.1016/j.jphyss.2025.100026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphyss.2025.100026","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The aim of the present study was to examine the contribution of spinal and supraspinal processes to pain modulation by attention. It is hypothesized that pain inhibition by distraction is accompanied by reduced pain-evoked pupil dilation and cerebral activity, but no inhibition of the nociceptive flexion reflex (NFR), while pain anticipation is expected to increase pain perception and pain-related responses. Twenty healthy volunteers received 90 painful stimuli in control, distraction (mental arithmetic), and anticipation (visual cue) conditions. Anticipation did not modulate pain (p = .7), while distraction decreased pain significantly (p < .001). Moreover, pupil diameter increased 500-1000 ms post-stimulus in the control condition (p < .05), but this response was abolished by distraction. Distraction also decreased pain-related brain activity (high-gamma oscillations) (p = .004), but not the NFR (p = .3). These results suggest that pain inhibition by distraction is produced, in part, by supraspinal inhibition of nociceptive processes.</p>","PeriodicalId":16832,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Physiological Sciences","volume":"75 2","pages":"100026"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144132582","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Thalia Babbage, Ana L C Sayegh, Jui-Lin Fan, Nicholas Gant, Julian F R Paton, James P Fisher
{"title":"Influence of endurance versus resistance exercise training on central and peripheral chemoreflexes in young healthy individuals.","authors":"Thalia Babbage, Ana L C Sayegh, Jui-Lin Fan, Nicholas Gant, Julian F R Paton, James P Fisher","doi":"10.1016/j.jphyss.2025.100027","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphyss.2025.100027","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Heightened central and peripheral chemoreflex sensitivity are associated with poor outcomes, but therapeutic approaches to target them are lacking. Endurance and resistance exercise training improve a multitude of physiological outcomes, but their effects on ventilatory chemoreflex sensitivity are unclear. Accordingly, the cardiorespiratory responses to steady-state isocapnic hypoxia (10 % O<sub>2</sub>, 5-minutes) and hyperoxic hypercapnic rebreathing (5 % CO<sub>2</sub>-95 % O<sub>2</sub>) were compared in endurance, resistance, and untrained groups. Central chemoreflex sensitivity was taken as the slope of the relationship between minute ventilation (V̇<sub>E</sub>) and end-tidal partial pressure of CO<sub>2</sub>. Peripheral chemoreflex sensitivity was determined from the absolute increase in V̇<sub>E</sub> from baseline to peak V̇<sub>E</sub> expressed relative to the fall in oxygen saturation. Neither central (P = 0.093) nor peripheral (P = 0.847) ventilatory chemoreflex sensitivities were different between groups. Future investigations should seek to understand whether exercise training modality influences central and peripheral chemoreflex sensitivity in older and clinical populations.</p>","PeriodicalId":16832,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Physiological Sciences","volume":"75 2","pages":"100027"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144094141","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Michiko Tashiro, Masato Konishi, Hana Inoue, Utako Yokoyama
{"title":"Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) suppress Na<sup>+</sup>- dependent Mg<sup>2+</sup> efflux in rat ventricular myocytes.","authors":"Michiko Tashiro, Masato Konishi, Hana Inoue, Utako Yokoyama","doi":"10.1016/j.jphyss.2025.100025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphyss.2025.100025","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Na<sup>+</sup>/Mg<sup>2+</sup> exchange transport, the Na<sup>+</sup> gradient-driven Mg<sup>2+</sup> extrusion system, plays a key role in cellular Mg<sup>2+</sup> homeostasis. To date, the molecular entity and selective inhibitors of Na<sup>+</sup>/Mg<sup>2+</sup> exchanger have not been fully explored. Intracellular free Mg<sup>2+</sup> concentration ([Mg<sup>2+</sup>]<sub>i</sub>) was measured in ventricular myocytes acutely isolated from rat hearts. After soaking the cells in high-Mg<sup>2+</sup> low-Na<sup>+</sup> solution to increase [Mg<sup>2+</sup>]<sub>i</sub>, the addition of extracellular Na<sup>+</sup> caused a decrease in [Mg<sup>2+</sup>]<sub>i</sub>. We analyzed the rate of decrease in [Mg<sup>2+</sup>]<sub>i</sub> as Na<sup>+</sup>/Mg<sup>2+</sup> exchange transport activity. The suppression of the rate of decrease in [Mg<sup>2+</sup>]<sub>i</sub> caused by sertraline, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), was concentration dependent (IC<sub>50</sub> 8.9 μM) and reversible. Other SSRIs, namely paroxetine and fluvoxamine, were less effective than sertraline. In conclusion, sertraline inhibited Na<sup>+</sup>/Mg<sup>2+</sup> exchange transport more effectively than any previously reported inhibitors of Na<sup>+</sup>/Mg<sup>2+</sup> exchanger. Sertraline could be used as a tool to characterize the functions of Na<sup>+</sup>/Mg<sup>2+</sup> exchanger.</p>","PeriodicalId":16832,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Physiological Sciences","volume":"75 2","pages":"100025"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144094142","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Extending wave propagation along muscle fibers originates from early local contraction at the end-plate region.","authors":"Tomonori Hayashi, Naoya Nakahara, Shigeru Morimoto, Maki Yamaguchi, Kazuhiro Hirano, Shigeru Takemori","doi":"10.1016/j.jphyss.2025.100023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphyss.2025.100023","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We investigated the propagation of extending waves along twitching muscle fibers triggered by the internal shortening of early local contraction in the end-plate region. Bullfrog sartorius muscles were minimally stimulated, and the displacement of carbon particles attached to the muscle surface was captured using a high-speed camera. We found an extending wave along the fiber at a velocity of 5.35 ± 0.33 m·s⁻¹, faster than the conduction of action potentials at 3.04 ± 0.31 m·s⁻¹. Local compression of the muscle surface blocked the propagation of the extending wave, indicating its mechanical nature. Muscle stretching increased the extending wave velocity. These findings provide direct evidence that mechanically transmitted extending waves originate from early local contractions in the end-plate region and propagate along muscle fibers ahead of the contraction wave.</p>","PeriodicalId":16832,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Physiological Sciences","volume":"75 2","pages":"100023"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144094140","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Heart rate changes related to risky selections and outcomes in rat gambling tasks.","authors":"Fumiya Fukushima, Atsushi Tamura, Nahoko Kuga, Takuya Sasaki","doi":"10.1016/j.jphyss.2025.100022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphyss.2025.100022","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Risk-taking behavior is crucial to increase potential outcomes and alter arousal states in the brain and body represented by heart rates. In this study, we monitored changes in heart rate as rats performed a 50:50 gambling task in which they selected either a certain outcome with 100 % probability (sure option) or a double outcome with 50 % probability (risky option). When rats selected risky options, they exhibited significantly greater decreases in their heart rates before selection than when they selected certain options. In addition, we observed significantly larger increases in heart rates when the rats recognized larger outcomes after selecting the risky options than the sure options. Similar dynamic changes in heart rates were observed in a 25:75 gambling condition with different reward magnitudes and probabilities. These results demonstrate that animals can dynamically alter their heart rates in response to risky selection and outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":16832,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Physiological Sciences","volume":"75 2","pages":"100022"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12018179/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144006181","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Acute transcutaneous CO<sub>2</sub> exposure: A feasibility study for the future investigation of CO<sub>2</sub>-specific exercise adaptations.","authors":"Kyle M A Thompson, Avery Bendell, Jamie F Burr","doi":"10.1016/j.jphyss.2025.100021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphyss.2025.100021","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Blood flow restricted (BFR) exercise induces musculoskeletal adaptations at reduced exercise loads. The role of hypercapnia during BFR remains unclear, due to difficulties in isolating this factor in vivo. We evaluated a hypercapnic model designed to raise CO<sub>2</sub> levels similar to low-intensity exercise, while minimizing other exercise-induced effects (e.g. hypoxia, lactate accumulation). In a crossover design, 18 participants were administered pure CO₂ (EXP) or room air (CON) transcutaneously from the neck down for 90 min. Ventilatory and blood markers (V̇CO<sub>2</sub>, ETCO<sub>2</sub>, V̇E, pH, and PCO<sub>2</sub>) were measured throughout. The area under the curve of ETCO<sub>2</sub> was higher during EXP compared to CON (75.5 ± 83.7 vs. 32.8 ± 57.5 a.u., p = 0.05), confirming successful CO<sub>2</sub> administration. However, there was no significant effect on PCO<sub>2</sub> (p = 0.09), despite a trend toward reduced pH (p = 0.059). CONCLUSION: While transcutaneous CO<sub>2</sub> absorption induced a physiological response, the magnitude was small, and this model shows limited ecological validity to simulate exercise-like conditions.</p>","PeriodicalId":16832,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Physiological Sciences","volume":"75 2","pages":"100021"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144030540","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Editorial: Special issue on thermosensitive TRP channels.","authors":"Makoto Tominaga","doi":"10.1016/j.jphyss.2025.100020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphyss.2025.100020","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":16832,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Physiological Sciences","volume":"75 2","pages":"100020"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12018543/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143998232","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Changes in adrenoceptor expression level contribute to the cellular plasticity of glioblastoma cells.","authors":"Yutaro Asaka, Toshio Masumoto, Atsuhito Uneda, Vanessa D Chin, Yusuke Otani, Tirso Peña, Haruyoshi Katayama, Takuto Itano, Teruhiko Ando, Rongsheng Huang, Atsushi Fujimura","doi":"10.1016/j.jphyss.2025.100016","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jphyss.2025.100016","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Glioblastoma cells are known to regulate their cellular plasticity in response to their surrounding microenvironment, but it is not fully understood what factors contribute to the cells' changing plasticity. Here, we found that glioblastoma cells alter the expression level of adrenoreceptors depending on their differentiation stage. Catecholamines are abundant in the central nervous system, and we found that noradrenaline, in particular, enhances the stemness of glioblastoma cells and promotes the dedifferentiation potential of already differentiated glioblastoma cells. Antagonist and RNAi experiments revealed that signaling through α1D-adrenoreceptor is important for noradrenaline action on glioblastoma cells. We also found that high α1D-adrenoreceptor expression was associated with poor prognosis in patients with gliomas. These data suggest that glioblastoma cells increase the expression level of their own adrenoreceptors to alter the surrounding tumor microenvironment favorably for survival. We believe that our findings will contribute to the development of new therapeutic strategies for glioblastoma.</p>","PeriodicalId":16832,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Physiological Sciences","volume":"75 2","pages":"100016"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12002996/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143788317","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Resistance training-induced dihydrotestosterone is blunted in aging rat skeletal muscle.","authors":"Yung-Li Hung, Akihito Ishigami, Shuichi Machida","doi":"10.1016/j.jphyss.2025.100019","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jphyss.2025.100019","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study aimed to investigate the influence of aging on steroid hormone production in skeletal muscles in response to resistance training. Male F344 rats, aged 4 months (young) and 22 months (old), were randomized into the sedentary and training groups. The training group performed resistance training by climbing a ladder with a load every three days for eight weeks. After the training period, the flexor hallucis longus muscle was dissection, and muscle steroid hormone levels were analyzed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. We found that resistance training significantly increased muscle mass in young and old rats, although the increase was less pronounced in the latter. In young, trained rats, muscle dihydrotestosterone levels were approximately 35-fold higher compared to sedentary controls (p < 0.01); dihydrotestosterone levels did not differ significantly between sedentary and trained old rats. These findings indicate that resistance training-induced dihydrotestosterone production is blunted in aging rat skeletal muscle.</p>","PeriodicalId":16832,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Physiological Sciences","volume":"75 2","pages":"100019"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12002648/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143788358","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"C-fiber-related brain responses evoked by laser heat pulses applied to the back.","authors":"Benjamin Provencher, Mathieu Piché","doi":"10.1016/j.jphyss.2025.100018","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jphyss.2025.100018","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The aim of the present study was to examine C-fiber-related brain responses evoked by laser heat stimuli applied to the lumbar area, and to determine the stimulation protocol that produces the most reliable responses. Thirty healthy volunteers completed the study. Combinations of different stimuli (single pulses or trains of three pulses) with different pulse durations (7 or 14 ms) were used to compare C-fiber-related brain responses between protocols. The four protocols elicited comparable C-fiber-related brain responses to laser heat pulses. However, pulse trains of 7 ms pulses at 0.67 Hz elicited C-LEPs in the greatest proportion of participants (86.7 %). C-LEPs occurred within a 500 ms to 1500 ms post-stimulus time window, consistent with the perception associated with C-fiber activation. These results provide novel data on C-fiber-related brain responses to painful stimuli and a reliable stimulation protocol for future studies on low back pain.</p>","PeriodicalId":16832,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Physiological Sciences","volume":"75 2","pages":"100018"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11995745/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143753248","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}