Search results for "Cortex"
showing 10 items of 1827 documents
Modulation of visual cortex excitability in migraine with aura: effects of valproate therapy.
2009
We explored the effects of valproate treatment on visual cortex excitability changes in migraine with aura patients. Abnormal cortical excitability has been suggested to play an important role in the etiopathogenesis of migraine; in particular, it has been suggested a failure of inhibitory circuits in migraine with aura. Valproate acts as a central GABA agonist and it is reasonable suppose that VPA could modify cortical excitability state. Phosphene threshold (PT) was assessed at baseline and after 1 Hz rTMS before and after one month therapy. We found that low-frequency rTMS in drug-free migraineurs decreased PT, while the treatment with the GABA agonist valproate is able to revert the eff…
Neuronal nicotinic receptors in synaptic functions in humans and rats: physiological and clinical relevance.
2000
The present report describes the participation of nicotinic receptors (nAChRs) in controlling the excitability of local neuronal circuitries in the rat hippocampus and in the human cerebral cortex. The patch-clamp technique was used to record responses triggered by the non-selective agonist ACh and the alpha7-nAChR-selective agonist choline in interneurons of human cerebral cortical and rat hippocampal slices. Evidence is provided that functional alpha7- and alpha4beta2-like nAChRs are present on somatodendritic and/or preterminal/terminal regions of interneurons in the CA1 field of the rat hippocampus and in the human cerebral cortex and that activation of the different nAChR subtypes pres…
Modulatory effects of the novel TrkB receptor agonist 7,8-dihydroxyflavone on synaptic transmission and intrinsic neuronal excitability in mouse visu…
2013
7,8-Dihydroxyflavone (7,8 DHF) is a new recently identified TrkB receptor agonist, which possesses a potent neurotrophic activity and shares many physiological properties with the neurotrophin "Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor" (BDNF). However, its precise mechanism of action at the cellular level has not been clarified yet. In the present study we explored the effects of this agent on synaptic and intrinsic neuronal properties by performing whole-cell patch clamp recordings from layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons. Incubation of acute cortical slices with 7,8-DHF (20 µM) for 30 min caused a selective reduction in the strength of GABAergic inhibition. The amplitude of evoked inhibitory postsynapti…
Postnatal alterations of the inhibitory synaptic responses recorded from cortical pyramidal neurons in the Lis1/sLis1 mutant mouse
2006
Mutations in the mouse Lis1 gene produce severe alterations in the developing cortex. We have examined some electrophysiological responses of cortical pyramidal neurons during the early postnatal development of Lis/sLis1 mutant mice. In P7 and P30 Lis1/sLis1 neurons we detected a lower frequency and slower decay phase of mIPSCs, and at P30 the mIPSCs amplitude and the action potential duration were reduced. Zolpidem (an agonist of GABAA receptors containing the alpha1 subunit) neither modified the amplitude nor the decay time of mIPSCs at P7 in Lis1/sLis1 neurons, whereas it increased the decay time at P30. The levels of GABAA receptor alpha1 subunit mRNA were reduced in the Lis1/sLis1 brai…
Somatosensory event-related potentials in the rabbit cerebral and cerebellar cortices: a correspondence with mismatch responses in humans.
2001
Somatosensory event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded from the cerebellar (CerCx), somatosensory (SomCx) and visual (VCx) cortices in rabbits in two stimulus conditions. In the oddball condition, airpuffs to two different locations in the rabbit's muzzle corresponded to infrequently presented deviant stimuli (oddball-deviants) interspersed with frequently presented standard stimuli. In the deviant-alone condition, deviants (alone-deviants) were presented without standards. ERPs to oddball-deviants differed significantly from those to standards in CerCx and SomCx, but not in VCx. Furthermore, some of these differences were not found between ERPs to alone-deviants and those to standards…
Aldosterone synthase activity in the Y-1 adrenal cell line.
1995
The Y-1 adrenal cell line was shown to produce 20 alpha-dihydroaldosterone from deoxycorticosterone. This compound was identified by GC-MS by comparison with the previously synthesized reference compound. Two other 18-hydroxylated metabolites were identified as 11 beta,18-dihydroxy-20 alpha-dihydroprogesterone from endogenous cholesterol and 18-hydroxy-20 alpha-dihydro-11-dehydrocorticosterone from DOC. The conditions necessary for the synthesis of these compounds are culturing in 20% serum-supplemented medium and repeated incubations with the substrate. The production of 11 beta-hydroxylated steroids and that of 18-oxygenated steroids is stimulated differently by ACTH and angiotensin II su…
Design and synthesis of new trehalose-conjugated pentapeptides as inhibitors of Aβ(1-42) fibrillogenesis and toxicity
2009
Aggregation of the amyloid A? peptide and its accumulation into insoluble deposits (plaques) are believed to be the main cause of neuronal dysfunction associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD); small molecules that can interfere with the A? amyloid fibril formation are therefore of interest for a potential therapeutic strategy. Three new trehalose-conjugated peptides of the well known ?-sheet breaker peptide iA?5p,were synthesized. The disaccharide was covalently attached to different sites of the LPFFD peptide chain, i.e. at the N-terminus, C-terminus or at the Asp side chain. CD spectroscopy in different solvents was used to assess changes in the peptide conformation of these compounds. Th…
Transcranial direct current stimulation over the right DLPFC selectively modulates subprocesses in working memory
2018
Background Working memory, as a complex system, consists of two independent components: manipulation and maintenance process, which are defined as executive control and storage process. Previous studies mainly focused on the overall effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on working memory. However, little has been known about the segregative effects of tDCS on the sub-processes within working memory. Method Transcranial direct current stimulation, as one of the non-invasive brain stimulation techniques, is being widely used to modulate the cortical activation of local brain areas. This study modified a spatial n-back experiment with anodal and cathodal tDCS exertion on th…
Fresh Human Orthotopic Ovarian Cortex Transplantation: Long-term Results
2006
An increasing number of young women are being diagnosed with cancer, and most cancer treatments have irreversibly negative effects on reproduction. Ovarian stimulation and preservation of oocytes or embryos is far from an ideal solution, in part because hormonal treatment may adversely affect some cancers. Another possibility is cryopreservation of ovarian tissue for later autotransplantation, but the ischemic damage caused by the procedure can lead to follicle loss. Using the ovarian medulla for orthotopic ovarian cortex transplantation might limit the risk of ischemia because the ovarian artery would assure a good blood supply. In addition, the medulla may have a role in follicular develo…
Glutathione metabolism in primary astrocyte cultures: flow cytometric evidence of heterogeneous distribution of GSH content.
1993
The time-course of intracellular glutathione (GSH) values after incubation with L-buthionine-(S,R)-sulfoximine (BSO), a selective inhibitor of gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase, showed that glutathione turns over with a half-life of 5 h. Intracellular GSH was assayed by flow cytometry using three different methods. Astrocytes showed a narrow range of cellular size but a wide range of intracellular GSH. This heterogeneity was resolved into three distinct subpopulations which represent 20%, 35% and 45% of the total astrocyte number. The less abundant subpopulation had the lower GSH content, while the most abundant was the subpopulation with the higher content. Over 95% of astrocytes were in t…