Neuroscience
-
Deficits in social communication and language development are a hallmark of autism spectrum disorder currently with no effective approaches to reduce the negative impact. Interventional studies using animal models have been very limited in demonstrating improved vocal communication. Autism has been proposed to involve metabolic dysregulation. ⋯ Composition of call categories and transitioning between individual call subtypes were more effectively altered to more closely align with the control group in juvenile BTBR mice. Together, our data provide further support to the hypothesis that metabolism-based dietary intervention could modify disease expression, including core symptoms, in autism. Future studies should tease apart the molecular mechanisms of KD's effects on vocalization.
-
The neuroinflammatory response promotes secondary brain injury after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 1 (TREM1) is a key regulator of inflammation. However, the role of TREM1 in TBI is poorly studied. ⋯ Moreover, after TREM1 was inhibited, the secretion of the proinflammatory factors TNF-α and IL-1β was significantly reduced, while the secretion of the anti-inflammatory factors IL-4 and IL-10 was significantly increased. Additionally, inhibition of TREM1 by LP17 significantly reduced neuronal apoptosis and ameliorated nerve dysfunction in TBI model rats. In conclusion, our findings suggest that TREM1 enhances neuroinflammation and promotes neuronal apoptosis after TBI, and these effects may be partly mediated via the ERK/cPLA2 signalling pathway.
-
Fechner's law proposes a logarithmic relationship between the physical intensity and perceived magnitude of a stimulus. The principle of logarithmic magnitude representation has been extensively utilized in various theoretical frameworks. Although the neural correlates of Weber's law have been considered as possible evidence for Fechner's law, there is still a lack of direct evidence for a logarithmic representation in the central nervous system. ⋯ Behavioral results showed that a Bayesian model, which assumes a logarithmic representation of spatiotemporal information, was better at predicting production times than a model relying on a linear representation. The EEG results revealed that P2 and P3b amplitudes increased linearly with the logarithmic transformation of spatiotemporal information, and these event-related potentials were localized in the parietal cortex. Our study provides direct evidence supporting logarithmic magnitude representation in the central nervous system.
-
Chronic pain is prevalent among aging adults. Epidemiologic evidence has demonstrated that individuals with chronic pain have accelerated memory decline and increased probability of dementia. ⋯ We validate this with multiple independent data sets and identify cortical microglia as a likely mechanism by which chronic pain can increase dementia risk. Our analyses support the molecular hypothesis for the role of chronic pain in cognitive decline and identifies several potential therapeutic targets.
-
Microinfarcts are widespread in the elderly, accompanied by varying degrees of cognitive decline. Continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS) has been demonstrated to be neuroprotective on cognitive dysfunction, but the underlying cellular mechanism has been still not clear. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of cTBS on cognitive function and brain pathological changes in mice model of microinfarcts. ⋯ Our results showed that cTBS treatment significantly improved the spatial learning and memory, accelerated the efficiency of glymphatic clearance, up-regulated the AQP4 expression and improved the polarity distribution of AQP4 in microinfarcts mice. Besides, cTBS treatment increased the number of surviving neurons, whereas decreased the activated astrocytes and microglia. Our study suggested that cTBS accelerated glymphatic clearance and inhibited the excessive gliogenesis, which ultimately exerted neuroprotective effects on microinfarcts mice.