Bruno Rezende Souza

The rapid expansion of online gambling and sports betting has raised concerns about gambling-related harm and its implications for public health. However, nationwide evidence regarding temporal trends and patterns of health care utilization associated with gambling remains limited, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. We conducted a nationwide retrospective study using administrative data from Brazil's Unified Health System from 2014 through 2025. We examined primary health care records associated with pathological gambling (ICD-10, code F63.0) and gambling and betting (code Z72.6). We analyzed temporal trends, seasonal patterns, and geographic and demographic distributions, calculating annual encounter rates per 100,000 inhabitants. Gambling-related primary health care encounters increased substantially during the study period, with a marked acceleration beginning in 2022. By 2025, nationwide rates reached 1.46 encounters per 100,000 inhabitants for pathological gambling and 0.60 per 100,000 for gambling and betting. Increases were observed across all five Brazilian regions, with the highest rates in the South and Southeast. Recorded encounters increased across age groups and both sexes, particularly among adults aged 20 to 39 years. Rates were also elevated among adolescent males and older women. Time-series analyses suggested seasonal variation, with higher indices generally between April and October. Gambling-related encounters in Brazilian primary health care increased markedly from 2014 through 2025, particularly after 2022, with substantial demographic and geographic variation. These findings indicate increasing documentation of gambling-related conditions within a nationwide public health system and underscore the need for improved surveillance, early identification, and access to appropriate mental health care.

Alterations in dopaminergic signaling and exposure to early-life stress are both implicated in the developmental origins of psychiatric disorders, yet little is known about how these factors interact during sensitive periods of brain maturation. We investigated whether increased dopamine availability during early postnatal development modifies the behavioral consequences of maternal separation in female and male C57BL/6 mice. From postnatal day (PD) 1 to PD14, mice received L-Dopa plus benserazide, maternal separation (3 h/day), their combination, or the corresponding control conditions. We assessed mice behavior between PD28 and PD32 using novel object recognition, open-field, elevated plus-maze, marble-burying, and forced-swim tests, followed by hippocampal volumetric analysis. Early L-Dopa exposure produced sex- and behavior-specific effects. In females, L-Dopa increased rearing without altering horizontal locomotion and modified open-arm exploration and stress-coping behavior, whereas in males it increased open-arm exploration and reduced climbing frequency. Maternal separation produced distinct effects in females and males and reduced repetitive digging/burying behavior in both sexes. Importantly, maternal separation frequently modified rather than potentiated the effects of L-Dopa. In both sexes, combined maternal separation and L-Dopa opposed several L-Dopa-associated alterations in open-field, elevated plus-maze, and forced-swim behaviors. Recognition memory was largely preserved across experimental conditions. L-Dopa also reduced hippocampal volume selectively in females, whereas hippocampal volume was higher in females exposed to maternal separation plus L-Dopa than in those receiving L-Dopa alone. Multivariate analyses revealed overlapping rather than treatment-specific behavioral clusters, indicating substantial individual heterogeneity and sex-dependent shifts in multidimensional behavioral profiles. Together, these findings demonstrate that transient alterations in dopamine availability and maternal separation interact non-additively during early postnatal development. Their consequences depend on sex, behavioral domain, and developmental timing, supporting a model in which neurochemical and environmental perturbations dynamically shape behavioral trajectories rather than simply producing cumulative developmental damage.

Dance is a core form of human-environment interaction and a powerful medium for emotional expression, yet dancers are routinely exposed to environmental affective cues that may shape their movement. We tested whether a negative emotional context induced immediately before improvisation alters dance biomechanics. Twenty professional dancers performed two 3-min improvised dances. Between dances, they viewed either Neutral or Negatively valenced pictures from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS; 2 min 40 s, 5 s per image). Eye tracking verified attention to the visual stream. Mood was assessed at four time points (PT1–PT4) using the Brazilian Mood Scale (BRAMS), and full-body, three-dimensional kinematics were captured at 300 Hz using a 9-camera optoelectronic system (Qualisys) and processed to measure global movement amplitude and expansion. Negative IAPS exposure increased tension, depression, fatigue, and decreased vigor from PT2 to PT3. Biomechanically, the Negative Stimulus dancers showed a significant reduction in global movement amplitude after negative IAPS exposure, with reduced movement amplitude of the body extremities. In contrast, global movement expansion remained unchanged; that is, the extremities were not positioned closer or farther from the pelvis. Neutral images produced no mood change and no measurable modulation of movement amplitude or expansion. Together, these results support the hypothesis that improvised dance carries biomechanical signatures of the dancer’s current affective state, beyond the intended expressive content, and provide an automated motion-capture workflow for studying emotion-movement coupling in spontaneous dance. Highlights: Negative visual context shifted dancers’ mood toward negative affect Negative images reduced movement amplitude in improvised dance Movement expansion remained stable despite mood induction Graphical

Dopamine signaling regulates multiple neurodevelopmental processes and has been implicated in neuropsychiatric disorders. Importantly, dopaminergic imbalances may exert distinct effects depending on the developmental window. Here, we tested whether increased dopamine availability or selective stimulation of dopamine D1 or D2 receptors during early postnatal life induces sex-specific behavioral alterations in prepubertal mice. Male and female Swiss mouse pups received daily injections from postnatal day (PD) 1-5 of Saline, L-Dopa+benserazide, the D1 receptor agonist SKF-38393, or the D2 receptor agonist Quinpirole. Behavioral assessments were conducted during the prepubertal period (PD28–PD30) using the open field, light-dark box, elevated plus maze, novelty-suppressed feeding, forced swimming, and tail suspension tests. Early postnatal dopaminergic manipulations did not alter baseline locomotor activity. However, we observed sex- and receptor-specific behavioral alterations. Increased dopamine availability produced anxiolytic-like effects that differed between females and males. In contrast, selective receptor activation resulted in divergent behavioral effects. D1 receptor stimulation increased anxiety-like behavior in females and depressive-like behavior, reduced food intake, and attenuated weight loss after fasting in males. D2 receptor stimulation increased anxiety-like behavior in females and despair/depressive-like behavior in both sexes, while increasing food intake and reducing weight loss after fasting in males. Despite these behavioral changes, hippocampal volume assessed by structural MRI at PD30 was unaltered. Together, these findings demonstrate that transient dopaminergic perturbations during a specific early postnatal window lead to sex-specific prepubertal behavioral outcomes, highlighting dopamine receptor–specific mechanisms as critical determinants of developmental vulnerability relevant to neuropsychiatric disorders.

Scientific publishing has become a complex economic engine intertwined with prestige and power. While publicly funded research fuels prestigious journals owned by private entities, the success of scientists and institutions becomes intimately tied to a cycle of increasing publication costs and limited access. The initial section of this article employs a satirical analogy, drawing parallels between the scientific publishing industry and the familiar framework of social media platforms. It offers a succinct historical overview, elucidating the progression of the present publishing structure. The final section delves into the paradoxical realities of this system. (1) Nation-funded research, public players, private profits: Public institutions and nation-states fuel research, but publishers reap the financial benefits through copyright ownership and inflated Article Processing Charges (APCs); (2) The prestige trap: Journals become platforms for constructing and maintaining scientific authority, with citation counts fueling the cycle of high prices and exclusivity; (3) Higher prices, more visibility: The APCs add a layer of financial burden, hindering access for researchers, especially from developing countries. This article proposes potential solutions such as leveraging existing models. Platforms like arXiv demonstrate sustainable open-access models, relying on voluntary contributions and community engagement. Integrating scientist-driven peer review within open-access frameworks can create a more equitable and accessible system, empowering the scientific community. The future of scientific publishing demands a shift towards transparency, affordability, and open access. By disentangling the economic web and prioritizing open access and transparency, we can create a more equitable and sustainable future for scientific publishing, ensuring that knowledge truly serves its intended purpose – to benefit humanity as a whole.

Anxiety and depression are two of the most common mental disorders worldwide, with a lifetime prevalence of up to 30%. These disorders are complex and have a variety of overlapping factors, including genetic, environmental, and behavioral factors. Current pharmacological treatments for anxiety and depression are not perfect. Many patients do not respond to treatment, and those who do often experience side effects. Animal models are crucial for understanding the complex pathophysiology of both disorders. These models have been used to identify potential targets for new treatments, and they have also been used to study the effects of environmental factors on these disorders. Recent proteomic methods and technologies are providing new insights into the molecular mechanisms of anxiety disorder and depression. These methods have been used to identify proteins that are altered in these disorders, and they have also been used to study the effects of pharmacological treatments on protein expression. Together, behavioral and proteomic research will help elucidate the factors involved in anxiety disorder and depression. This knowledge will improve preventive strategies and lead to the development of novel treatments. Keywords Anxiety disorder Depression Animal models Behavior Proteomics