Neuroscience
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We explored the changes in multi-finger synergies in patients after a single cortical stroke with mild motor impairments. We hypothesized that both synergy indices and anticipatory synergy adjustments prior to the initiation of a self-paced quick action would be diminished in the patients compared to age-matched controls. The patients with history of cortical stroke, and age-matched controls (n=12 in each group) performed one-finger and multi-finger accurate force production tasks involving both steady-state and quick force pulse production. ⋯ In contrast, a drop in the synergy index prior to the force pulse generation was significantly delayed in the stroke patients. Our results show that mild cortical stroke leads to no significant changes in multifinger synergies, but there is impairment in feed-forward adjustments of the synergies prior to a quick action, a drop in the maximal force production, and an increase in enslaving. We conclude that studies of synergies reveal two aspects of synergic control differentially affected by cortical stroke.
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Monoamine neurotransmitter, serotonin (5-HT) has its own specific receptors in both pre- and post-synapse. In the present study the role of carnosine on aging-induced changes of [(3)H]-5-HT receptor binding in different brain regions in a rat model was studied. The results showed that during aging (18 and 24 months) the [(3)H]-5-HT receptor binding was reduced in hippocampus, hypothalamus and pons-medulla with a decrease in their both Bmax and KD but in cerebral cortex the [(3)H]-5-HT binding was increased with the increase of its only Bmax. ⋯ The decrease in pons-medullary [(3)H]-5-HT binding including its Bmax of 18-month-aged rats was promoted with carnosine without any significant change in its cerebral cortex. The [(3)H]-5-HT receptor binding with the same dosages of carnosine in 4-month-young rats (a) increased in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus with the increase in their only Bmax whereas (b) decreased in hypothalamus and pons-medulla with a decrease in their both Bmax and KD. These results suggest that carnosine treatment may (a) play a preventive role in aging-induced brain region-specific changes in serotonergic activity (b) not be worthy in 4-month-young rats in relation to the brain regional serotonergic activity.
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Schizophrenia is conceptualized as a neurodevelopmental disorder in which developmental alterations in immature brain systems are not clear. Rats with neonatal ventral hippocampal lesions (NVHL) can exhibit schizophrenia-like behaviors, and these rats have been widely used to study the developmental mechanisms of schizophrenia. The nuclear restricted protein/brain (NRP/B) is a nuclear matrix protein that is critical for the normal development of the neuronal system. ⋯ The expressions of NeuN were decreased accordingly. In vitro experiment showed the NRP/B knockdown can decrease the Tuj1 expression in cultured cortical neurons. The data suggest that NVHL induces a change in NRP/B expression that affects neurons in the developmental period.
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It has previously been shown in rats that acute administration of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) exerts a dose-dependent effect on simple locomotor activity, with low doses of THC causing hyper-locomotion and high doses causing hypo-locomotion. However the effect of acute THC administration on cortical movement representations (motor maps) and skilled learned movements is completely unknown. It is important to determine the effects of THC on motor maps and skilled learned behaviors because behaviors like driving place people at a heightened risk. ⋯ Dosages of 1.0mg/kg and 2.5mg/kg THC reduced the number of reach attempts but did not affect percentage of success or the kinetics of reaching on the single pellet skilled reaching task. Rats that received 2.5mg/kg THC did show an increase in latency of forelimb removal on the bar task, while dose-dependent effects of THC on unskilled locomotor activity using the rotorod and horizontal ladder tasks were not observed. Rats may be employing compensatory strategies after receiving THC, which may account for the robust changes in motor map expression but moderate effects on behavior.
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Flexion/withdrawal reflexes are attenuated by spinal, intracerebroventricular (ICV) and systemic delivery of cholinergic agonists. In contrast, some affective reactions to pain are suppressed by systemic cholinergic antagonism. Attention to aversive stimulation can be impaired, as is classical conditioning of fear and anxiety to aversive stimuli and psychological activation of stress reactions that exacerbate pain. ⋯ Also, the normal hyperalgesic effect of sound stress was absent after ICV 192-sap. Effects of cerebral cholinergic denervation or stress on nociceptive licking and guarding reflexes were not consistent with the effects on operant escape, highlighting the importance of evaluating pain sensitivity of laboratory animals with an operant behavioral test. These results reveal that basal forebrain cholinergic transmission participates in the cerebral processing of pain, which may be relevant to the pain sensitivity of patients with Alzheimer's disease who have prominent degeneration of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons.