Search results for "Mesencephalon"

The cytoprotective protein MANF promotes neuronal survival independently from its role as a GRP78 cofactor

2021

Mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor (MANF) is an endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-stress-regulated protein exhibiting cytoprotective properties through a poorly understood mechanism in various in vitro and in vivo models of neuronal and non-neuronal damage. Although initially characterized as a secreted neurotrophic factor for midbrain dopamine neurons, MANF has recently gained more interest for its intracellular role in regulating the ER homeostasis, including serving as a cofactor of the chaperone glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78). We aimed for a better understanding of the neuroprotective mechanisms of MANF. Here we show for the first time that MANF promotes the survival of …

'Prefrontal' cognitive performance of healthy subjects positively correlates with cerebral FDOPA influx: an exploratory [18F]-fluoro-L-DOPA-PET inves…

2006

Dopamine neurotransmission influences those cognitive processes, which are generally regarded as prefrontal cortical functions. In previous positron‐emission‐tomography (PET) studies, net blood‐brain clearance of [(18)F]‐fluoro‐l‐DOPA (FDOPA) correlated with impaired cognitive performance in patients with Parkinson's disease or schizophrenia. We hypothesized that FDOPA influx also correlates with performance of cognitive tasks associated with prefrontal functioning in healthy volunteers. The net blood‐brain clearance of FDOPA (K [Formula: see text]) was mapped in a group of 11 healthy volunteers and calculated in striatal volumes‐of‐interest. The Wisconsin‐Card‐Sorting‐Test (WCST), Stroop‐T…

The pterygoid reflex in man and its clinical application

1992

A technique for eliciting and recording the stretch reflex (R) of the medial pterygoid muscle (Pter) is described. The latency was 6.9 ± 0.43 ms in 23 healthy volunteers (mean age 23.7 years) showing a side-to-side difference of 0.29 ± 0.21 ms. The PterR latencies were little shorter and side-to-side difference little greater than of the masseter reflex. Observations in 5 selected patients with small brainstem lesions suggest that the neurons of the PterR afferents form a cluster within the caudal portion of the trigeminal mesencephalic nucleus. Testing the masseter and pterygoid reflexes provides a more precise localization of small ponto-mesencephalic lesions. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, In…

Modulation of [18F]fluorodopa (FDOPA) kinetics in the brain of healthy volunteers after acute haloperidol challenge.

2006

In animal studies, acute antipsychotic treatment was shown to enhance striatal DOPA-decarboxylase (DDC) activity. However, this phenomenon has not been demonstrated in humans by positron emission tomography (PET). Therefore, we investigated acute haloperidol effects on DDC activity in humans using [18F]fluorodopa (FDOPA) PET. Nine healthy volunteers were scanned with FDOPA in drug-free baseline conditions and after 3 days of haloperidol treatment (5 mg/day). A continuous performance test (CPT) was administered in both conditions. The net blood-brain clearance of FDOPA (K(in)app) in striatum, mesencephalon, and medial prefrontal cortex was calculated by volume-of-interest analysis. The macro…

Endoscopic Treatment of Mesencephalic Ependymal Cysts: Technical Case Report

1998

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the results of different neuroendoscopic surgical procedures for the treatment of mesencephalic ependymal cysts. METHODS: The clinical records of five patients treated for symptomatic mesencephalic ependymal cysts were retrospectively studied. Two patients had been operated on using an endoscope-assisted microsurgical technique and three patients using a pure endoscopic procedure. RESULTS: Adequate fenestration of the cysts was achieved in all of the patients. Two of the patients were symptom-free, and the other three had improved significantly after a mean follow-up duration of 14 months. There was no surgical morbidity. CONCLUSION: Mesencephalic ependymal cysts can …

Enhancement of the FGFR1 signaling in the FGFR1-5-HT1A heteroreceptor complex in midbrain raphe 5-HT neuron systems. Relevance for neuroplasticity an…

2015

New findings show existence of FGFR1-5-HT1A heteroreceptor complexes in 5-HT nerve cells of the dorsal and median raphe nuclei of the rat midbrain and hippocampus. Synergistic receptor-receptor interactions in these receptor complexes indicated their enhancing role in hippocampal plasticity. The existence of FGFR1-5-HT1A heteroreceptor complexes also in midbrain raphe 5-HT nerve cells open up the possibility that antidepressant drugs by increasing extracellular 5-HT levels can cause an activation of the FGF-2/FGFR1 mechanism in these nerve cells as well. Therefore, the agonist modulation of the FGFR1-5-HT1A heteroreceptor complexes and their specific role is now determined in rat medullary …

NEUROCHEMICAL STUDIES WITH L-CYCLOSERINE, A CENTRAL DEPRESSANT AGENT.

1963

Modifications in Evoked Activity in the Visual Cortex Induced by the Caudate Nucleus

1971

The visual system, like the other sensorial systems, is subjected to intrinsic, complex control, originating both in the retina (CHANG et al., 1959; ARDUINI and HIRAO, 1960; STERIADE, 1967) and in the visual cortex (BUSER et a/., 1963; JASSIK-GERSCHENFELD and ASCHER, 1963; MEULDERS, 1965), which regulates its input at various levels of the specific pathways. However, the visual system is also influenced by subcortical structures which, though not exerting on it a strictly selective control, determine notable modifications in the level of excitability of the cortical sensorial neurons. It is in fact we11 known that activation of the mesencephalic reticular formation, by increasing the level …

Functional Plasticity after Unilateral Vestibular Midbrain Infarction in Human Positron Emission Tomography.

2016

The aim of the study was to uncover mechanisms of central compensation of vestibular function at brainstem, cerebellar, and cortical levels in patients with acute unilateral midbrain infarctions presenting with an acute vestibular tone imbalance. Eight out of 17 patients with unilateral midbrain infarctions were selected on the basis of signs of a vestibular tone imbalance, e.g., graviceptive (tilts of perceived verticality) and oculomotor dysfunction (skew deviation, ocular torsion) in F18-fluordeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET at two time points: A) in the acute stage, and B) after recovery 6 months later. Lesion-behavior mapping analyses with MRI verified the exact structural lesion sites. Group su…

Retrotransposon activation by distressed mitochondria in neurons

2020

Retrotransposon activation occurs in a variety of neurological disorders including multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's Disease. While the origins of disease-related retrotransposon activation have remained mostly unidentified, this phenomenon may well contribute to disease progression by inducing inflammation, disrupting transcription and, potentially, genomic insertion. Here, we report that the inhibition of mitochondrial respiratory chain complex I by pharmacological agents widely used to model Parkinson's disease leads to a significant increase in expression of the ORF1 protein of the long interspersed nucleotide element 1 (LINE1) retrotransposon in human dopaminergic LUHMES cells. These …