Previous research on sensitization in Aplysia was based entirely on unnatural noxious stimuli, usually electric shock, until our laboratory found that a natural noxious stimulus, a single sublethal lobster attack, causes short-term sensitization. We here extend that finding by demonstrating that multiple lobster attacks induce long-term sensitization (≥24 h) as well as similar, although not ide...

We present a brief overview of the incentive sensitization theory of addiction. This posits that addiction is caused primarily by drug-induced sensitization in the brain mesocorticolimbic systems that attribute incentive salience to reward-associated stimuli. If rendered hypersensitive, these systems cause pathological incentive motivation ('wanting') for drugs. We address some current question...

BACKGROUND Limited data are available on the frequency of IgE mediated food sensitization and food allergy (FA) in adults with atopic dermatitis (AD). OBJECTIVE We investigated the pattern of food sensitization in adults with AD in relation to AD severity using multiplexed allergen microarray. METHODS 211 adult patients referred between January 2010-July 2011 for evaluation of AD were unsel...

Background Although cow’s milk allergy is considered as food allergy prototype, true prevalence of cow’s milk allergy in Lithuania is not known. Aims of this research were to determine the prevalence of sensitization to cow’s milk in EuroPrevall Lithuanian birth cohort, to evaluate the relationship between children age and gender, sensitization to other allergens, relationship between sensitiza...

BACKGROUND Models that incorporate patterns of multiple cytokine responses to allergens, rather than individual cytokine production, may better predict sensitization and asthma. OBJECTIVE To characterize the patterns of peripheral blood mononuclear cells' (PBMCs) cytokine responses to house dust mite (HDM) allergens among children from two population-based birth cohorts using machine learning...

Skin prick tests (SPTs) play an important role in the diagnosis of bakers asthma and epidemiological field studies on frequencies of sensitization to wheat or rye flour. In many epidemiological studies the investigators have tried to reveal the determinants of specific sensitization, and atopy appears to be a very strong determinant for sensitization to flour allergens. Age and gender have not ...

We present a brief overview of the incentive sensitization theory of addiction. This posits that addiction is caused primarily by drug-induced sensitization in the brain mesocorticolimbic systems that attribute incentive salience to reward-associated stimuli. If rendered hypersensitive, these systems cause pathological incentive motivation (‘wanting’) for drugs. We address some current question...

Until recently, dishabituation and sensitization have commonly been considered to reflect a unitary process: Sensitization refers to a general facilitation produced by strong or noxious stimuli that enhances subsequent responding; dishabituation has been thought to represent a special instance of sensitization in which the facilitation is simply superimposed on a habituated response level. The ...

BACKGROUND Allergen exposure leads to allergen sensitization in susceptible individuals and this might influence allergic rhinitis (AR) phenotype expression. We investigated whether sensitization patterns vary in a country with subtropical and tropical regions and if sensitization patterns relate to AR phenotypes or age. METHODS In a national, cross-sectional study AR patients (2-70 y) seen b...

Neuroadaptations underlying sensitization to drugs of abuse seem to influence compulsive drug pursuit and relapse associated with addiction. Our previous data support a role for the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) type-1 receptor (CRF₁) in ethanol (EtOH)-induced psychomotor sensitization. CRF₁ is endogenously activated by CRF and urocortin-1. Because genetic deletion of urocortin-1 did not...