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PubMed1996

Reversal of portacaval shunting normalizes brain energy consumption in most brain structures.

The cerebral metabolic rate of glucose consumption (CMRGlc) was measured throughout brains of rats with 1) portacaval shunts created for 2 wk, followed by restoration of normal blood circulation for 2 wk; 2) portacaval shunts created for 2 wk, followed by a sham operation and 2 wk of recovery; 3) two sham operations, each with 2 wk of recovery times. Portacaval-shunted rats had diminished CMRGlc (decreases of 7-23%) throughout the brain in agreement with previous studies. After restoration of normal liver blood flow, the CMRGlc of most structures returned to near-normal values, although a few structures, notably the hippocampus, remained 11-13% lower. These data suggest that the consequences of portacaval shunting to brain energy metabolism can be markedly improved, if not completely reversed, by restoring the normal pattern of blood flow to an otherwise healthy liver. Other metabolic and physical data collected (liver weight, liver-to-body weight, plasma ammonia) returned to normal except plasma glucose concentrations, which remained lower by 11%, suggesting a persistent, albeit mild, defect in glucose homeostasis.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Brain structural abnormalities in young children with autism spectrum disorder.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the specific gross neuroanatomic substrates of this brain developmental disorder, the authors examine brain morphometric features in a large sample of carefully diagnosed 3- to 4-year-old children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared with age-matched control groups of typically developing (TD) children and developmentally delayed (DD) children. METHODS: Volumes of the cerebrum, cerebellum, amygdala, and hippocampus were measured from three-dimensional coronal MR images acquired from 45 children with ASD, 26 TD children, and 14 DD children. The volumes were analyzed with respect to age, sex, volume of the cerebrum, and clinical status. RESULTS: Children with ASD were found to have significantly increased cerebral volumes compared with TD and DD children. Cerebellar volume for the ASD group was increased in comparison with the TD group, but this increase was proportional to overall increases in cerebral volume. The DD group had smaller cerebellar volumes compared with both of the other groups. Measurements of amygdalae and hippocampi in this group of young children with ASD revealed enlargement bilaterally that was proportional to overall increases in total cerebral volume. There were similar findings of cerebral enlargement for both girls and boys with ASD. For subregion analyses, structural abnormalities were observed primarily in boys, although this may reflect low statistical power issues because of the small sample (seven girls with ASD) studied. Among the ASD group, structural findings were independent of nonverbal IQ. In a subgroup of children with ASD with strictly defined autism, amygdalar enlargement was in excess of increased cerebral volume. CONCLUSIONS: These structural findings suggest abnormal brain developmental processes early in the clinical course of autism. Research currently is underway to better elucidate mechanisms underlying these structural abnormalities and their longitudinal progression.

Amygdala↗

PubMed2005

Alterations in glutathione levels of brain structures caused by acute restraint stress and by nitric oxide synthase inhibition but not by intraspecific agonistic interaction.

Glutathione is the major non-protein thiol to which many different roles in the central nervous system (CNS) are attributed. To further investigate the glutathione response in the CNS, we tested the effect of three stress models on glutathione levels in the brain. We tested the effect of two models of repeated intraspecific agonistic interaction in mice. No influence was observed over the glutathione levels in the mice cerebral cortex, cerebellum, liver, and blood. Acute restraint stress in rats was found to induce an increase in glutathione levels in the cerebellum after 2 and 4 h of immobilization, an effect not observed in the cerebral cortex, striatum, and hippocampus. To investigate the interference of an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), N(omega)Nitro-L-arginine-methyl-ester (L-NAME, 50 mg/kg) was applied i.p. at the beginning of restraint stress. L-NAME alone did not lead to a change in glutathione levels although, in combination with restraint stress, it induced an increase in such levels. This effect was observed in all four structures studied, i.e. cortex, hippocampus, striatum, and cerebellum. The values returned to basal levels after 6h of immobilization. In conclusion, the pattern of dominance, after repeated intraspecific agonistic interaction, was ineffective in producing alterations in brain glutathione, whereas acute restraint stress led to an increase in glutathione levels within a window of 2-4 h, and the inhibition of NOS increased glutathione levels in all studied rat brain structures, suggesting a specificity interference of acute restraint stress with the glutathione system.

Agonistic Behavior↗

PubMed1999

Mapping variation in brain structure and function: implications for rehabilitation.

The recognition of structural and functional variability of the human brain promoted the development of a system to organize and analyze the rapidly growing body of knowledge acquired among diverse disciplines. The Human Brain Project (HBP) was initiated and has evolved as a means of establishing an information infrastructure through tools related to the emerging science of neuroinformatics. This article will briefly describe the implications that such an endeavor has for the field of traumatic brain injury (TBI) rehabilitation.

Brain↗

PubMed1998

Multiple ovarian hormone effects on brain structure and function.

Ovarian steroids have numerous effects on the brain throughout the life span, beginning during gestation and continuing into senescence. Ovarian steroids have widespread effects on catecholaminergic neurons and serotonergic pathways and on the basal forebrain cholinergic system. Another important action of ovarian hormones is the regulation of synapse turnover in the hippocampus as exhibited during the fourth or fifth day of a female rat's estrus cycle. In the human brain, estrogen replacement therapy is associated with improvements in episodic and declarative memory, which depend on the hippocampus, and is involved in the processing of emotional information. Because of their widespread influences on neuronal systems, ovarian steroids are important factors to consider in the treatment of depressive illness.

Animals↗

PubMed1984

Abnormalities of brain structure and density in schizophrenia.

Quantitative and qualitative measures of brain morphology were derived through CT scans using computer-assisted methodology in patients with schizophrenia or schizo-affective psychosis and headache controls. Schizophrenics had significantly higher density of white matter, together with greater right vs. left asymmetry in density of white matter than controls. Schizophrenics tended to have larger widths of cortical sulci than headache patients. In our sample of schizophrenics, however, no significant differences were found on measures of lateral ventricle (LV) width, LV area, VBR, or other measures of ventricular size compared to headache controls. There were no differences between CT scan measures taken in patients with schizophrenia vs. schizo-affective psychosis.

Adult↗

PubMed1968

6-acyl galactosyl ceramides of pig brain: structure and fatty acid composition.

Two glycolipids were isolated from pig brain and were shown to be the fatty acid esters of kerasin and cerebron in which the second fatty acid moiety is attached to the 6-position of the galactose. The point of attachment was shown in two ways: by permethylation and by cleavage with periodate. Methanolysis of the permethylated cerebroside esters yielded O-methyl sphingosines, methyl esters of nonhydroxy or 2-methoxy acids, and methyl 2,3,4-trimethyl galactoside. Cleavage of the cerebron ester with periodate, followed by treatment with sodium borohydride and dilute HCl, yielded ceramide plus 1-monoglyceride. The ester-linked fatty acids were primarily 16:0, 18:0, and 18:1, while the amide-linked fatty acids showed the wide assortment of chain lengths typical of brain cerebrosides. The methylation step, with silver oxide and methyl iodide, yielded two derivatives with the cerebroside esters, but the structural explanation for the difference was not elucidated. The galactose in the cerebron ester was shown to exist in the beta-pyranoside form.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

Abnormalities of brain structure and function in schizophrenia: implications for aetiology and pathophysiology.

In vivo imaging and post-mortem neuropathology studies have detected a variety of abnormalities in brain function and structure in patients with schizophrenia. Current models of the neural mechanisms involved focus primarily on frontal and medial temporal lobe structures and their interconnections, because deficits in these systems are relatively prominent against a background of generalized cerebral dysfunction, and because individuals with acquired lesions in these areas show many of the symptoms characteristic of schizophrenia. Family and twin studies have demonstrated similar abnormalities in some of the unaffected biological relatives of schizophrenics, indicating that some of these neuropathological changes are mediated in part by genetic predisposition to the disorder. Further, obstetric complications are associated with an increased risk for phenotypic schizophrenia and with greater severity of its neuropathological features in individuals at elevated genetic risk. These latter findings, combined with evidence of heterotopic displacement of neurones in temporolimbic and frontal regions and evidence that cognitive dysfunction during childhood precedes schizophrenia, imply that at least some of these brain abnormalities are neuro-developmental in origin. The view emerging from this work is that schizophrenia is a brain disease the neuropathological features of which result at least in part from the unique and interacting influences of genetic factors and adverse obstetric events in utero.

Age of Onset↗

PubMed1957