Search results for "neuron"

Wasp venom injected into the prey's brain modulates thoracic identified monoaminergic neurons.

2005

The wasp Ampulex compressa injects a cocktail of neurotoxins into the brain of its cockroach prey to induce an enduring change in the execution of locomotory behaviors. Our hypothesis is that the venom injected into the brain indirectly alters the activity of monoaminergic neurons, thus changing the levels of monoamines that tune the central synapses of locomotory circuits. The purpose of the present investigation was to establish whether the venom alters the descending control, from the brain, of octopaminergic neurons in the thorax. This question was approached by recording the activity of specific identified octopaminergic neurons after removing the input from the brain or after a wasp s…

Transient and Permanent Experience with Fatty Acids Changes Drosophila melanogaster Preference and Fitness

2013

Food and host-preference relies on genetic adaptation and sensory experience. In vertebrates, experience with food-related cues during early development can change adult preference. This is also true in holometabolous insects, which undergo a drastic nervous system remodelling during their complete metamorphosis, but remains uncertain in Drosophila melanogaster. We have conditioned D. melanogaster with oleic (C18:1) and stearic (C18:0) acids, two common dietary fatty acids, respectively preferred by larvae and adult. Wild-type individuals exposed either during a transient period of development-from embryo to adult-or more permanently-during one to ten generation cycles-were affected by such…

Lactate Threshold Training Program on Patients with Multiple Sclerosis: A Multidisciplinary Approach

2021

Physical activity could play a key role in improving the quality of life, particularly in patients with nervous system diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Through lactacid anaerobic training, this study aims to investigate the effects at a bio-psycho-physical level to counteract the chronic fatigue associated with the pathology, and to improve mental health at a psychological and neurotrophic level. Eight subjects (age: 34.88 ± 4.45 years) affected by multiple sclerosis were involved. A lactate threshold training program was administered biweekly for 12 weeks at the beginning of the study (T0), at the end of the study (T1) and at 9 months after the end of the study (T2), with physical…

Clinical features and lifestyle of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Campania: brief overview of an Italian database

2012

Background. Physical activity and occupational exposures appeared to play a relevant role in pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disease of unknown origin. Materials and methods. We aimed to make an overview of the clinical characteristics and life - style (occupation and sport) of a population of 395 patients with ALS from campania, in southern Italy. Results. ALS onset resulted anticipated of about 11 years in industry workers, whilst the more frequent site of onset among farmers was upper limbs. compared to non-athletes, athletes, particu- larly soccer players, showed a 7 years anticipation of ALS onset, with higher mortality after 5 years. Discussion…

Predicting domain-specific actions in expert table tennis players activates the semantic brain network.

2018

Motor expertise acquired during long-term training in sports enables top athletes to predict the outcomes of domain-specific actions better than nonexperts do. However, whether expert players encode actions, in addition to the concrete sensorimotor level, also at a more abstract, conceptual level, remains unclear. The present study manipulated the congruence between body kinematics and the subsequent ball trajectory in videos of an expert player performing table tennis serves. By using functional magnetic resonance imaging, the brain activity was evaluated in expert and nonexpert table tennis players during their predictions on the fate of the ball trajectory in congruent versus incongruent…

Expression of Cx36 in mammalian neurons

2000

Cx36 is the first mammalian member of a novel subgroup of the connexin family, characterized by a long cytoplasmic loop, a peculiar gene structure and a preferential expression in cell types of neural origin. In the present review we summarize the evidence in favour of its predominant expression in neuronal cells in the mammalian central nervous system, such as results from experiments with specific neurotoxins and co-localization of Cx36 mRNA and a neuronal marker. We also report a detailed description of Cx36 mRNA distribution in the rat and human central nervous system by in situ hybridization and, for each brain region, we correlate the novel findings with previous morphological or func…

Neurochemical anatomy of the mammalian spinal cord: Functional implications

1992

Regularity of Spike Trains and Harmony Perception in a Model of the Auditory System

2011

Spike train regularity of the noisy neural auditory system model under the influence of two sinusoidal signals with different frequencies is investigated. For the increasing ratio m/n of the input signal frequencies (m, n are natural numbers) the linear growth of the regularity is found at the fixed difference (m - n). It is shown that the spike train regularity in the model is high for harmonious chords of input tones and low for dissonant ones.

Is there contextuality in behavioural and social systems?

2015

Most behavioral and social experiments aimed at revealing contextuality are confined to cyclic systems with binary outcomes. In quantum physics, this broad class of systems includes as special cases Klyachko-Can-Binicioglu-Shumovsky-type, Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen-Bell-type, and Suppes-Zanotti-Leggett-Garg-type systems. The theory of contextuality known as Contextuality-by-Default allows one to define and measure contextuality in all such system, even if there are context-dependent errors in measurements, or if something in the contexts directly interacts with the measurements. This makes the theory especially suitable for behavioral and social systems, where direct interactions of "everythin…

Degradable poly(amidoamine) hydrogels as scaffolds for in vitro culturing of peripheral nervous system cells.

2012

This paper reports on the synthesis and physico-chemical, mechanical, and biological characterization of two sets of poly(amidoamine) (PAA) hydrogels with potential as scaffolds for in vivo peripheral nerve regeneration. They are obtained by polyaddition of piperazine with N,N′-methylenebis(acrylamide) or 1,4-bis(acryloyl)piperazine with 1,2-diaminoethane as cross-linking agent and exhibit a combination of relevant properties, such as mechanical strength, biocompatibility, biodegradability, ability to induce adhesion and proliferation of Schwann cells (SCs) preserving their viability. Moreover, the most promising hydrogels, that is those deriving from 1,4-bis(acryloyl)piperazine, allow the …