Search results for "Amy"
showing 10 items of 1486 documents
Organization of the ophidian amygdala: chemosensory pathways to the hypothalamus.
1999
Although recent studies in squamate reptiles have importantly clarified how chemical information is processed in the reptilian brain, how the amygdala relays chemosensory inputs to the hypothalamus to influence chemically guided behaviors is still poorly documented. To identify these chemosensory pathways, the amygdalo-hypothalamic projections, intra-amygdaloid circuitry and afferents from the lateral cortex (LC) to the amygdala were investigated by injecting conjugated dextran-amines into the hypothalamus, amygdala, and LC of garter snakes. The amygdala was divided into olfactory recipient (ventral anterior and external amygdalae), vomeronasal recipient (nucleus sphericus, NS, and medial a…
Essential Oils and Pure Volatile Compounds as Potential Drugs in Alzheimer's Disease Therapy: An Updated Review of the Literature
2016
Background: The use of aromatic plants to relief different illness is not a new therapy. Actually aromatic plants have been used for many centuries by different cultures around the world. Pharmacological studies provide scientific support to the traditional use of aromatic medicinal plants and aromatherapy; nevertheless, more clinical trials are required regarding to their effectiveness in order to establish a guidance for their use in routine healthcare. Moreover, modern medicine in studies about olfactory function has attained great achievements and got Nobel Prize in 2004. These new searches have obviously fueled interest in the essential oils and volatile compounds of natural origin. Se…
Chemosensory Function of the Amygdala
2010
The chemosensory amygdala has been traditionally divided into two divisions based on inputs from the main (olfactory amygdala) or accessory (vomeronasal amygdala) olfactory bulbs, supposedly playing different and independent functional roles detecting odors and pheromones, respectively. Recently, there has been increased anatomical evidence of convergence inputs from the main and accessory bulbs in some areas of the amygdala, and this is correlated with functional evidence of interrelationships between the olfactory and the vomeronasal systems. This has lead to the characterization of a third division of the chemosensory amygdala, the mixed chemosensory amygdala, providing a new perspective…
The vomeronasal cortex - afferent and efferent projections of the posteromedial cortical nucleus of the amygdala in mice
2013
Most mammals possess a vomeronasal system that detects predominantly chemical signals of biological relevance. Vomeronasal information is relayed to the accessory olfactory bulb (AOB), whose unique cortical target is the posteromedial cortical nucleus of the amygdala. This cortical structure should therefore be considered the primary vomeronasal cortex. In the present work, we describe the afferent and efferent connections of the posteromedial cortical nucleus of the amygdala in female mice, using anterograde (biotinylated dextranamines) and retrograde (Fluorogold) tracers, and zinc selenite as a tracer specific for zinc-enriched (putative glutamatergic) projections. The results show that t…
Fiber Connections of the Amygdaloid Formation of the Lizard <i>Podarcis hispanica</i>
1993
The amygdaloid formation of the lizard Podarcis hispanica can be divided into three main groups of nuclei on the basis of their input from the main and accessory olfactory bulbs: the vomeronasal amygdala, the olfactory amygdala and the dorsal amygdaloid group, the latter group receiving afferents from neither the main (MOB) or the accessory olfactory bulb (AOB). The vomeronasal amygdala has a centrifugal projection to the AOB, an important commissural connection to the contralateral vomeronasal amygdala, a minor projection to nucleus accumbens, and a bilateral projection to the lateral cortex. The olfactory amygdala displays a bilateral afferents from the MOB, receives a contralateral affer…
Sexual pheromones and the evolution of the reward system of the brain: the chemosensory function of the amygdala.
2008
The amygdala of all tetrapod vertebrates receives direct projections from the main and accessory olfactory bulbs, and the strong similarities in the organization of these projections suggest that they have undergone a very conservative evolution. However, current ideas about the function of the amygdala do not pay sufficient attention to its chemosensory role, but only view it as the core of the emotional brain. In this study, we propose that both roles of the amygdala are intimately linked since the amygdala is actually involved in mediating emotional responses to chemical signals. The amygdala is the only structure in the brain receiving pheromonal information directly from the accessory …
Piriform Cortex and Amygdala
2012
Publisher Summary A ventral view of the cerebral hemispheres of mammals shows an array of structures ultimately connected with the olfactory bulbs through the olfactory tracts. This is the basis for the old concept of rhinencephalon, a series of neural centers in the cerebral hemispheres, located ventral to the rhinal fissure, for which an olfactory role was assumed. Although mice lack a conspicuous rhinal fissure, their “rhinencephalon” is well developed. The concept of the rhinencephalon is difficult to sustain nowadays, as it includes neural centers of diverse origin, organization and nature. The rhinencephalon comprises several allocortical areas that constitute the olfactory cortex, de…
Ataxin-1 and ataxin-2 intermediate-length PolyQ expansions in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
2012
ABSTRACT Objective: Recent evidence suggests that intermediate-length polyglutamine (PolyQ) expansions in the ataxin-2 ( ATXN-2 ) gene are a risk factor for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This work was undertaken with the aim to investigate the frequency of ataxin-1 ( ATXN-1 ) and ATXN-2 PolyQ expansions in a cohort of patients with sporadic ALS (sALS) and patients with familial ALS (fALS) from southern Italy. Methods: We assessed the PolyQ lengths of ATXN-1 and ATXN-2 in 405 patients with sALS, 13 patients with fALS, and 296 unrelated controls without history of neurodegenerative disorders. Results: We found significantly higher intermediate PolyQ expansions ≥32 for ATXN-1 alleles an…
A prospective randomised, open-labeled, trial comparing sirolimus-containing versus mTOR-inhibitor-free immunosuppression in patients undergoing live…
2010
Abstract Background The potential anti-cancer effects of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors are being intensively studied. To date, however, few randomised clinical trials (RCT) have been performed to demonstrate anti-neoplastic effects in the pure oncology setting, and at present, no oncology endpoint-directed RCT has been reported in the high-malignancy risk population of immunosuppressed transplant recipients. Interestingly, since mTOR inhibitors have both immunosuppressive and anti-cancer effects, they have the potential to simultaneously protect against immunologic graft loss and tumour development. Therefore, we designed a prospective RCT to determine if the mTOR inhibito…
Sero-epidemiologal association between human-papillomavirus infection and risk of prostate cancer
1998
Some epidemiological studies of prostate cancer have suggested the existence of a sexually transmitted risk factor, and some studies have reported the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA in prostate-cancer tissue. To perform a sero-epidemiological evaluation of whether HPV infection is associated with increased risk for prostate cancer, we performed a nested case-control study within a serum bank containing samples from 20,243 healthy Finnish men. We identified 165 cases of prostate cancer that were diagnosed up to 24 years after donation of the serum sample. Two control subjects per case were selected, matched for gender, age and municipality of residence. Serum samples were analyze…