Search results for "Thalamu"

2016

Cytoglobin (Cygb) is a vertebrate globin with so far poorly defined function. It is expressed in the fibroblast cell-lineage but has also been found in neurons. Here we provide, using immunohistochemistry, a detailed study on the distribution of Cygb in the mouse brain. While Cygb is a cytoplasmic protein in active cells of the supportive tissue, in neurons it is located in the cytoplasm and the nucleus. We found the expression of Cygb in all brain regions, although only a fraction of the neurons was Cygb-positive. Signals were of different intensity ranging from faint to very intense. Telencephalic neurons in all laminae of the cerebral cortex, in the olfactory bulb (in particular periglom…

Early silent microstructural degeneration and atrophy of the thalamocortical network in multiple sclerosis

2016

Recent studies on patients with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) and multiple sclerosis (MS) demonstrated thalamic atrophy. Here we addressed the following question: Is early thalamic atrophy in patients with CIS and relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) mainly a direct consequence of white matter (WM) lesions-as frequently claimed-or is the atrophy stronger correlated to "silent" (nonlesional) microstructural thalamic alterations? One-hundred and ten patients with RRMS, 12 with CIS, and 30 healthy controls were admitted to 3 T magnetic resonance imaging. Fractional anisotropy (FA) was computed from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to assess thalamic and WM microstructure. The relative thalamic vol…

P13. Dendato-thalamo-cortical pathways in association with otolith dysfunction

2015

Introduction The processing of otolith information within the human cortex is still poorly understood (Lopez and Blanke, 2011). Two distinct anatomical otolith pathways within the thalamo-cortical vestibular network were proposed in patients with thalamic infarctions who presented with contra- or ipsiversive tilts of the subjective visual vertical (SVV) (Dieterich and Brandt, 1993; Baier et al., submitted for publication). Aim of this study was to investigate the dendato-thalamo-cortical pathways in association with otolith dysfunction by means of DTI (diffusion tensor imaging) based on the regions found in a recent patient study using statistical lesion-behavior mapping (Baier et al., subm…

Enhanced tonic GABAA inhibition in typical absence epilepsy

2009

The cellular mechanisms underlying typical absence seizures, which characterize various idiopathic generalized epilepsies, are not fully understood, but impaired γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-ergic inhibition remains an attractive hypothesis. In contrast, we show here that extrasynaptic GABAA receptor–dependent 'tonic' inhibition is increased in thalamocortical neurons from diverse genetic and pharmacological models of absence seizures. Increased tonic inhibition is due to compromised GABA uptake by the GABA transporter GAT-1 in the genetic models tested, and GAT-1 is crucial in governing seizure genesis. Extrasynaptic GABAA receptors are a requirement for seizures in two of the best character…

Thalamic relay or cortico-thalamic processing? Old question, new answers.

2013

Ascending and descending information is relayed through the thalamus via strong, “driver” pathways. According to our current knowledge, different driver pathways are organized in parallel streams and do not interact at the thalamic level. Using an electron microscopic approach combined with optogenetics and in vivo physiology, we examined whether driver inputs arising from different sources can interact at single thalamocortical cells in the rodent somatosensory thalamus (nucleus posterior, POm). Both the anatomical and the physiological data demonstrated that ascending driver inputs from the brainstem and descending driver inputs from cortical layer 5 pyramidal neurons converge and interac…

Selective regional distribution of tubulin induced in cerebrum by hyperammonemia

1989

Ingestion of ammonium induces hyperammonemia which increases tubulin content in cerebrum but not in cerebellum. We have dissected 11 discrete areas of cerebrum and quantified the tubulin content in control and hyperammonemic rats. An heterogeneity in the induction of tubulin is shown. The areas more affected are ventral hippocampus, dorsal hippocampus, hypothalamus, septum, reticular formation and frontal cortex, in which tubulin content increased by 63%, 27%, 32%, 48%, 45%, and 25%, respectively, after two months of feeding the ammonium diet.

Anterograde tracing of retinohypothalamic afferents with Fluoro-Gold

1997

The anterograde neuronal tracing properties of Fluoro-Gold (FG) were characterized in this study by its ability to label the retinohypothalamic tract (RHT) upon pressure injection of the substance into the vitrous body of the eye in the Djungarian hamster, Phodopus sungorus. Tracing was compared to the anterograde neuronal transport of cholera toxin B subunit (CTB), Fast blue (FB), Phaseolous vulgaris leucoagglutinin (PHA-L) and biocytin. After survival times that ranged from 24 h to 4 weeks, a major projection was found to the bilateral hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN). Labeling was also found in the anterior medial preoptic nucleus and, in relatively sparse amounts, in the latera…

Effects of melatonin on spontaneous electrical activity of neurons in rat suprachiasmatic nuclei: an in vitro iontophoretic study.

1989

Circadian rhythms, endogenously generated in suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN), seem to be under the direct influence of melatonin. Therefore, the effect of iontophoretically applied melatonin on electrical activity of SCN neurons was investigated in vitro. Usually, melatonin had an inhibitory effect. In the 3-h periods before (2.00-5.00 p.m.) or after (5.00-8.00 p.m.) the light-dark transition the percentage of SCN neurons sensitive to melatonin was very high (80% and 100%, respectively). However, efficacy of melatonin was low in the periods preceeding (20%) and following (33%) this 6-h time interval.

The maternal hormone in the male brain: Sexually dimorphic distribution of prolactin signalling in the mouse brain.

2018

Research of the central actions of prolactin is highly focused on females, but this hormone has also documented roles in male physiology and behaviour. Here, we provide the first description of the pattern of prolactin-derived signalling in the male mouse brain, employing the immunostaining of phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 (pSTAT5) after exogenous prolactin administration. Next, we explore possible sexually dimorphic differences by comparing pSTAT5 immunoreactivity in prolactin-supplemented males and females. We also assess the role of testosterone in the regulation of central prolactin signalling in males by comparing intact with castrated prolactin-supp…

Nitric oxide modulation of the basal ganglia circuitry: therapeutic implication for Parkinson's disease and other motor disorders.

2011

Several recent studies have emphasized a crucial role for the nitrergic system in movement control and the pathophysiology of the basal ganglia (BG). These observations are supported by anatomical evidence demonstrating the presence of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in all the basal ganglia nuclei. In fact, nitrergic terminals have been reported to make synaptic contacts with both substantia nigra dopamine-containing neurons and their terminal areas such as the striatum, the globus pallidus and the subthalamus. These brain areas contain a high expression of nitric oxide (NO)-producing neurons, with the striatum having the greatest number, together with important NO afferent input. In this pape…