Neuroscience letters
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Neuroscience letters · Jan 2018
Graded photochemical spinal cord injury results in chronic hyperalgesia and depression-like behaviour but no anxiety exacerbation in female BALB/c mice.
Neuropathic pain (NP) is present in 40-to-50% of spinal cord injured patients. It tends to chronicity and correlates with lower quality-of-life. Moreover, the role of NP in the eventual exacerbation of anxiety- and depression-like behaviours during its development and chronification in genetically susceptible individuals remains unclear. ⋯ Behavioural data suggest that whilst hyperalgesia associated to SCI does not exacerbate BALB/c anxiety-like behaviours, it may result in depression-like behaviour at SCI chronic phase. Our study demonstrates that chronic central hyperalgesia may exacerbate despair-like behaviour at the SCI chronic phase in a mouse model of high anxiety-related behaviour. This implies that photochemical-SCI may be a suitable model to study the comorbidity between chronic NP and mood disorders.
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Neuroscience letters · Jan 2018
Longitudinal electrophysiological changes after cervical hemi-contusion spinal cord injury in rats.
To evaluate the longitudinal somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) and motor evoked potentials (MEPs) characterization from acute to chronic injury following cervical hemi-contusion spinal cord injury (SCI) in rats, and correlate the MEPs & SEPs to the behavioral outcomes. ⋯ Cervical hemi-contusion SCI led to persistent changes in MEPs & SEPs of the ipsilateral forelimb, ipsilateral impairment in motor function and unilateral cord tissue damage. Reliable electrophysiology assessment was obtained in chronic phase due to unstable MEPs & SEPs of bilateral forelimb immediately after injury, which might reflect the underlying pathological processes. The present study further confirmed the link of the MEPs to the behavioral outcomes, supporting the longitudinal electrophysiology assessment for neurological impairment after SCI.
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Neuroscience letters · Jan 2018
Randomized Controlled TrialEffects of transcranial direct current stimulation over the supplementary motor area body weight-supported treadmill gait training in hemiparetic patients after stroke.
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is used in a variety of disorders after stroke including upper limb motor dysfunctions, hemispatial neglect, aphasia, and apraxia, and its effectiveness has been demonstrated. Although gait ability is important for daily living, there were few reports of the use of tDCS to improve balance and gait ability. The supplementary motor area (SMA) was reported to play a potentially important role in balance recovery after stroke. ⋯ Our findings demonstrated the feasibility and efficacy of tDCS in gait training after stroke. The facilitative effects of tDCS on SMA possibly improved postural control during BWSTT. The results indicated the implications for the use of tDCS in balance and gait training rehabilitation after stroke.
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Neuroscience letters · Jan 2018
JAK2/STAT3 pathway is involved in the protective effects of epidermal growth factor receptor activation against cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats.
Cerebral ischemia and reperfusion is a common pathophysiologic process, which is involved in stroke and brain trauma. Recent studies revealed that activating epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) ameliorates cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury, however, the precise mechanisms remain to be illuminated. In this study, the neurological behavior was evaluated by Longa score. ⋯ In addition, EGF pretreatment increased the expression of Bcl-2 and reduced the expression of Bax and Cx43, and the effects were abolished after using AG1478 and AG490. These findings implicate that JAK2/STAT3 pathway plays the vital role in I/R injury protection from activating EGFR. And the neuroprotective effects may associate with inhibiting the Cx43 expression and the inhibition of apoptosis.
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Neuroscience letters · Jan 2018
Associations between single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the NTRK1 gene and basal pain sensitivity in young Han Chinese women.
The NTRK1 gene plays an important role in sensory and sympathetic neuronal survival. Mutations in this gene cause a rare hereditary disease known as congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis. The aim of this study was to explore possible associations between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in NTRK1 and pain perception in a selected population. ⋯ These results suggest that polymorphisms in NTRK1 play an important role in pain sensitivity in young Han Chinese women.