Neuroscience
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To examine the effect of glucose on the cerebral metabolism of glutamine, rat brain slices were incubated with 5mM [3-(13)C]glutamine without and with 5mM unlabeled glucose. Tissue plus medium extracts were analyzed by using enzymatic and (13)C NMR techniques and fluxes through the enzymatic steps involved were calculated with a mathematical model. ⋯ The results indicate that 77% of the newly appeared glutamine was formed via glutamine synthetase and 23% from endogenous sources; the stimulation of [3-(13)C]glutamine removal by MSO also strongly suggests the existence of a cycle between [3-(13)C]glutamine and [3-(13)C]glutamate. This work also demonstrates that glucose increased fluxes through hexokinase, pyruvate kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, alanine aminotransferase, pyruvate carboxylase, pyruvate dehydrogenase, citrate synthase, flux from α-ketoglutarate to glutamate and flux through glutamine synthetase whereas it inhibited fluxes through aspartate aminotransferase, glutamic acid decarboxylase and GABA aminotransferase.
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Repeated exposure to drugs of abuse is associated with structural plasticity in brain reward pathways. Rats selectively bred for locomotor response to novelty differ on a number of neurobehavioral dimensions relevant to addiction. This unique genetic animal model was used here to examine both pre-existing differences and long-term consequences of repeated cocaine treatment on structural plasticity. ⋯ Changes in spine density occurred specifically near the branch point of terminal dendrites. These findings indicate that structural plasticity associated with prolonged cocaine abstinence varies markedly in two selected strains of rats that vary on numerous traits relevant to addiction. Thus, genetic factors that contribute to individual variation in the behavioral response to cocaine also influence cocaine-induced structural plasticity.
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The maximum rate (Vmax) of some enzymatic activities related to energy consumption was evaluated in synaptic plasma membranes from rat brain striatum, the synaptic energy state being a crucial factor in neurodegenerative diseases etiopathogenesis. Two types of synaptic plasma membranes were isolated from rats subjected to in vivo treatment with L-acetylcarnitine at two different doses (30 and 60 mg × kg(-1) i.p., 28 days, 5 days/week). The following enzyme activities were evaluated: acetylcholinesterase (AChE); Na(+), K(+), Mg(2+)-ATP-ase; ouabain insensitive Mg(2+)-ATP-ase; Na(+), K(+)-ATP-ase; direct Mg(2+)-ATP-ase; Ca(2+), Mg(2+)-ATP-ase; and low- and high-affinity Ca(2+)-ATP-ase. ⋯ Pharmacological treatment decreased ouabain insensitive Mg(2+)-ATP-ase activity and high affinity Ca(2+)-ATP-ase activity at the doses of 30 and 60 mg × kg(-1) respectively on SPM1, while it decreased Na(+), K(+)-ATP-ase, direct Mg(2+)-ATP-ase and Ca(2+), Mg(2+)-ATP-ase activities at the dose of 30 mg × kg(-1) on SPM2. These results suggest that the sensitivity to drug treatment is different between these two populations of synaptic plasma membranes from the striatum, confirming the micro-heterogeneity of these subfractions, possessing different metabolic machinery with respect to energy consumption and utilization and the regional selective effect of L-acetylcarnitine on cerebral tissue, depending on the considered area. The drug potential effect at the synaptic level in Parkinson's Disease neuroprotection is also discussed with respect to acetylcholine and energy metabolism.
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A high-fat diet (HFD) can increase hypothalamic galanin (GAL). GAL has recently been shown to inhibit opiate reward, which in turn, decreases cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). We hypothesized that injection of GAL into the paraventricular nucleus (PVN), or consumption of a HFD, would be associated with a decrease in NAc CREB. ⋯ Body weight, serum triglyceride and leptin levels were also raised in the chronic HFD-fed rats. These data suggest that PVN GAL or chronic intake of a HFD can decrease NAc pCREB. The implications of these findings may help to explain the lack of opiate-like withdrawal that has been reported in response to overeating a HFD, thereby providing a potential mechanism underlying behavioral differences seen with addiction-like overconsumption of different types of palatable foods.
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Numerous clinical conditions can be treated by neuromodulation of the peripheral nervous system (PNS). Typical electrical PNS therapies activate large diameter axons at lower electrical stimulus thresholds than small diameter axons. However, recent animal experiments with peripheral optogenetic neural stimulation (PONS) of myelinated axons expressing channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) have shown that this technique activates small diameter axons at lower irradiances than large diameter axons. ⋯ The light-axon models enabled direct calculation of threshold irradiance for different diameter axons. Our simulations demonstrate that illumination of multiple nodal sections reduces the threshold irradiance and enhances the small-to-large diameter recruitment order. In addition to addressing biophysical questions, our light-axon model system could also be useful in guiding the engineering design of optical stimulation technology that could maximize the efficiency and selectivity of PONS.