Neuroscience letters
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Neuroscience letters · Oct 2012
P2X3 receptor mediates ectopic mechanical allodynia with inflamed lower lip in mice.
Ectopic pain in other orofacial regions develops with local inflammation in separated orofacial structures. However, the basis for the spreading of pain to adjacent orofacial areas after local inflammation is still unknown. In the present study, we determined if the P2X(3) receptor (P2X(3)R) was associated with altered mechanical sensitivity of the whisker pad skin following complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) injection into the lower lip. ⋯ CGRP protein expression in TG ipsilateral to CFA injection was also significantly greater than that of the saline-injected mice. The present findings suggest that induced CGRP by local inflammation in the lower lip increases P2X(3)R in TG neurons, the increased P2X(3)Rs are involved in the sensitization of primary afferent neurons in the whisker pad skin. This P2X(3)R overexpression may underlie ectopic mechanical allodynia in the whisker pad skin after CFA injection into the lower lip.
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Neuroscience letters · Oct 2012
ReviewCellular and molecular approaches to motor neuron therapy in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and spinal muscular atrophy.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) are progressive fatal neurodegenerative diseases. They differ in their disease development but have in common a loss of motor neuron as they progress. Research is ongoing to further understand the origin of these diseases but this common thread of motor neuron loss has provided a target for the development of therapies for both ALS and SMA. It is the linked fields of gene and cell therapy that are providing some of the most interesting therapeutic possibilities.
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Neuroscience letters · Oct 2012
Facilitation and habituation of the startle reflex over the tonically active biceps brachii muscle contralateral to electrical stimuli.
The aim of the present investigation was to explore the impact of muscle contraction on startle reflex responses after electrical stimuli (single or trains of 3) and to study startle reflex habituation. The electromyogram was recorded over the tonically active biceps brachii muscle in 19 healthy subjects contralateral to electrical stimuli (9-12mA) that were delivered at 1.0 and 0.4Hz over the superficial radial nerve. The muscle contraction level was varied by loading weight on the subject's bent arm (0.0, 1.0 or 1.5kg). ⋯ Startle reflex amplitudes decreased significantly by the influence of preceding stimuli (p<0.05). This study provides evidence that the startle reflex can be significantly influenced by weight load, i.e. by volitional influences. Startle reflex investigation over a contracted limb muscle results in a high probability of startle release and thereby improved detection of SR habituation following preceding stimuli.