http://precedings.nature.com/users/fd2f866b7327c193acc84c177378acdd/ Documents posted by Alfredo Pereira Jr Nature Publishing Group en Nature Precedings http://precedings.nature.com/images/header_logo.gif http://precedings.nature.com http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/npre.2008.1497.1 Advancement of research on the neurobiology of the schizophrenic brain has revealed a complex of factors, from genetic tendencies affecting the development of brain structure to functional impairment caused by defective molecular signaling. Recently, the attention of psychiatrists and mental health professionals has been directed to the presence of cognitive deficits, responsible for most of the obstacles to the social insertion of patients.The schizophrenic person has a difficulty to manage the flux of consciousness in social interactions. We address this difficulty with the Flower Arrangement Workshop, a methodology of Psycho-Social Rehabilitation that reduces the vulnerability of the schizophrenic in the social environment. The workshop was offered regularly (18 months) for a group containing 4 schizophrenic subjects. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/npre.2008.1497.1 Tue, 08 Jan 2008 18:44:30 UTC Cognitive deficits of schizophrenia: the flower workshop initiative doi:10.1038/npre.2008.1497.1 2008-01-08 Alfredo Pereira Jr Nature Precedings 2008-01-08T18:44:30Z Presentation Neuroscience http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ http://precedings.nature.com/documents/760/version/1 Conscious perceptual processing involves the sequential activation of cortical networks at several brain locations, and the onset of oscillatory synchrony affecting the same neuronal population. How do the earlier activated circuits sustain their excitation to synchronize with the later ones? We call such a sustaining process “meta-potentiation”, and propose that it depends on neuro-astroglial interactions. In our proposed model, attentional cholinergic and stimulus-related glutamatergic inputs to astroglia elicit the release of astroglial glutamate to bind with neuronal NMDA receptors containing the NR2B subunit. Once calcium channels are open, slow inward currents activate the CaM/CaMKII complex to phosphorylate AMPA receptors in a population of neurons connected with the astrocyte, thus amplifying the local excitatory pattern to participate in a larger synchronized assembly that supports consciousness. http://precedings.nature.com/documents/760/version/1 Mon, 20 Aug 2007 17:14:04 UTC Meta-Potentiation: Neuro-Astroglial Interactions Supporting Perceptual Consciousness hdl:10101/npre.2007.760.1 2007-08-20 Alfredo Pereira Jr Nature Precedings 2007-08-20T17:14:04Z Manuscript Neuroscience http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/