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Increased levels of messenger RNAs for neurotrophic factors in the brain during kindling epileptogenesis.

Kindling, induced by repeated subconvulsive electrical or chemical stimulations leads to progressive and permanent amplification of seizure activity, culminating in generalized seizures. We report that kindling induced by electrical stimulation in the ventral hippocampus leads to a marked and transient increase in mRNA for NGF and BDNF in the dentate gyrus, the parietal cortex, and the piriform cortex. BDNF mRNA increased also in the pyramidal layer of hippocampus and in the amygdaloid complex. No change was seen in the level of HDNF/NT-3 mRNA. The increased expression of NGF and BDNF mRNAs was not influenced by pretreatment with the NMDA receptor antagonist MK801, but was partially blocked by the quisqualate, AMPA receptor antagonist NBQX. The presumed subsequent increase of the trophic factors themselves may be important for kindling-associated plasticity in specific neuronal systems in the hippocampus, which could promote hyperexcitability and contribute to the development of epileptic syndromes.

Animals↗

Regional variations in NMDA receptor downregulation in streptozotocin-diabetic rat brain.

Insulin insufficiency has multiple actions on the CNS. Three weeks after streptozotocin-induced diabetes in rats, we found a preferential downregulation of l-[(3)H]glutamate-labeled NMDA receptors in primary sensory cortical regions. Layers I-III of the parietal cortex and superficial piriform cortex were the most sensitive followed by other cortical regions and, in turn, deeper brain structures. These effects on NMDA receptors can potentially explain some of the known CNS effects of diabetes.

Animals↗

Functional brain imaging of olfactory processing in monkeys.

As a step toward bridging the gap between human and animal studies of olfactory brain systems, we report results from an fMRI study of olfaction in squirrel monkeys. High-resolution fMRI images at 3 T with 1.25 x 1.25 x 1.2 mm(3) voxels were obtained covering the whole brain using an 8-cm-diameter birdcage coil and a gradient-echo spiral pulse sequence. Data were acquired from six sedated adult males using a standard block design. All fMRI data were spatially normalized to a common template and analyzed at the individual and group levels with statistical parametric and nonparametric methods. Robust odorant-induced activations were detected in several brain regions previously implicated in conscious human olfactory processing, including the orbitofrontal cortex, cerebellum, and piriform cortex. Consistent with human data, no stimulus intensity effects were observed in any of these regions. Average signal changes in these regions exceeded 0.6%, more than three times the expected signal change based on human fMRI studies of olfaction adjusting for differences in voxel size. These results demonstrate the feasibility of studying olfaction in sedated monkeys with imaging techniques commonly used at 3 T in humans and help promote direct comparisons between humans and nonhuman primates. Our findings, for example, provide novel support for the hypothesis that the cerebellum is involved in sensory acquisition. More broadly, this study suggests that olfactory processing in sedated monkeys and nonsedated humans shares similar neural substrates both within and beyond the primary olfactory system.

Animals↗

Cortical Fluoro-Jade staining and blunted adrenomedullary response to hypoglycemia after noncoma hypoglycemia in rats.

Intensive insulin therapy in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus reduces long-term complications; however, intensive therapy is also associated with a three-fold increase in hypoglycemic episodes. The present study in conscious rats characterizes the physiologic and neuropathologic consequences of a single episode of moderate hypoglycemia. In this model, intravenous insulin is used to reduce plasma glucose to 30 to 35 mg/dL for 75 mins. This single hypoglycemic insult acutely induces hypoglycemia-associated autonomic failure (HAAF), with epinephrine responses to hypoglycemia reduced more than 36% from control. Neuropathology after this insult includes the appearance of dying cells, assessed with the marker Fluoro-jade B (FJ). After hypoglycemic insult, FJ+ cells were consistently seen in subdivisions of the medial prefrontal cortex, the orbital cortex, and the piriform cortex. There was a significant correlation between depth of hypoglycemia and number of FJ+ cells, suggesting that there is a critical threshold below which vulnerable cells begin to die. These data suggest that there is a population of cells that are vulnerable to moderate levels of hypoglycemia commonly experienced by patients with insulin-treated diabetes. These cells, which may be neurons, are primarily found in cortical regions implicated in visceral perception and autonomic control, raising the possibility that their loss contributes to clinically reported deficits in autonomic and perceptual responses to hypoglycemia.

Adrenal Medulla↗

LRRK2 is expressed in areas affected by Parkinson's disease in the adult mouse brain.

The leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) gene was recently found to have multiple mutations that are causative for autosomal dominant inherited Parkinson's disease (PD). Previously, we used Northern blot analysis to show that this gene was expressed in the cerebellum, cerebral cortex, medulla, spinal cord, occipital pole, frontal lobe, temporal lobe and caudate putamen. However, a more comprehensive map of LRRK2 mRNA localization in the central nervous system is still lacking. In this study we have mapped the distribution of the mRNA encoding for LRRK2 using nonradioactive in situ hybridization. We detected a moderate expression of this PD-related gene throughout the adult B2B6 mouse brain. A stronger hybridization signal was observed in deep cerebral cortex layers, superficial cingulate cortex layers, the piriform cortex, hippocampal formation, caudate putamen, substantia nigra, the basolateral and basomedial anterior amygdala nuclei, reticular thalamic nucleus and also in the cerebellar granular cell layer. Given that LRRK2 mRNA is highly enriched in motor systems and also is expressed in other systems, we may conclude that mutations in LRRK2 may affect several motor and nonmotor structures that may play an important role in the development of PD.

Animals↗

[Electrophysiological study of the functional connections of the hypothalamus with the forebrain in the tortoise Emys orbicularis].

During stimulation of the posterior hypothalamus, the evoked potentials with short latent periods, high amplitude and poor exhaustion by rhythmic stimulation were recorded in the hippocampal cortex. In the piriform cortex, the evoked potentials exhibited longer latent periods and complex configuration. Less readily the evoked potentials appeared in the neocortex, their latency being very large. During stimulation of the anterior hypothalamus, maximum activity was also localized in the hippocampal cortex. The data obtained indicate close connection between hypothalamic structures and the hippocampal cortex. The latter is presumably the main projectional area for the ascending afferentation from the hypothalamus.

Animals↗

Type VIII adenylyl cyclase. A Ca2+/calmodulin-stimulated enzyme expressed in discrete regions of rat brain.

A cDNA that encodes type VIII adenylyl cyclase has been isolated from two rat brain libraries. The open reading frame encodes a 1248-amino acid protein predicted to have two sets of six transmembrane spans and two putative nucleotide binding domains as is characteristic of other mammalian adenylyl cyclases. Two type VIII messages are detected in rat brain with estimated sizes of 5.5 and 4.4 kilobases. In situ hybridization indicates that the type VIII messages are most abundantly expressed in the granule cells of the dentate gyrus, the pyramidal cells of hippocampal fields CA1-CA3, the entorhinal cortex, and the piriform cortex. Hybridization is also detected in the neocortex, the amygdaloid complex, and regions of the thalamus and hypothalamus. Stable expression of the type VIII cDNA in human embryonal kidney cells leads to the appearance of a novel 165-kDa glycoprotein in the membrane fraction. Stimulation of these cells with agents that increase intracellular Ca2+ results in up to 43-fold increases in cAMP accumulation over that of control cells transfected with the expression vector. Addition of isoproterenol alone does not lead to type VIII-specific effects in intact cells. Adenylyl cyclase activity in membranes prepared from type VIII-transformed cells is stimulated up to 40-fold by the addition of Ca2+/calmodulin (EC50 = 53 nM calmodulin). The addition of activated recombinant alpha subunit of Gs synergistically increases the Ca2+/calmodulin-stimulated activity. A possible role for type VIII adenylyl cyclase in long-term potentiation is discussed.

Adenylyl Cyclases↗

Characterization of G protein and phospholipase C-coupled agonist binding to the Y1 neuropeptide Y receptor in rat brain: sensitivity to G protein activators and inhibitors and to inhibitors of phospholipase C.

Binding of a Y1-subtype-selective agonist of neuropeptide Y (NPY) receptor, (Leu31,Pro34)human peptide YY (LP-PYY), to particulates from four rat brain areas (parietal cortex area 1, piriform cortex, anterior hypothalamus and hippocampus) showed a distinct response to LP-PYY and PYY, a uniformly low sensitivity to ligands selective for the Y2, Y4 and Y5 NPY receptor subtypes and high sensitivity to a Y1 site-selective antagonist, BIBP-3226. The Y1 binding was sensitive to guanine nucleotide-binding protein (G protein) agonist and antagonist nucleotides, with the rank order of guanosine 5'-O-(thiotriphosphate) (GTP gamma S) > GTP > GDP > guanosine 5'-O-(thiodiphosphate). However, guanine nucleotides did not affect about one third of the specific Y1 binding. Most of Y1 binding could be inhibited by a G protein nucleotide site/docking site receptor mimic, mastoparan analog MAS-7. In all areas examined, the Y1 binding of LP-PYY was little affected by up to 100 microM of the antagonists of K+, Na+ and Ca++ channels, protein kinase C, phospholipase A2, phospholipase D and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, phospholipase substrate phospholipids, steroids or detergents. However, the binding was potently inhibited by phospholipase C inhibitors (especially the aminosteroid U-73122), which also dissociated the bound Y1 ligand in steady-state conditions. U-73122 also displaced the Y1 binding insensitive to GTP gamma S. Ligand association with the brain Y1 NPY receptor thus strongly depends on activity of both G proteins and phospholipase C, implying specific interactions of these transducers/effectors with the receptor molecule in ligand binding. A portion of brain Y1 sites could be directly coupled to phospholipase(s) C.

Animals↗

Effects of chronic ethanol consumption and aging on proenkephalin and neurotensin.

We examined the combined effects of chronic ethanol consumption and aging on mRNA and peptide for proenkephalin (PE), the precursor of met- and leu-enkephalin. This study also evaluated the effects of aging and alcohol on the level of the mRNA encoding the common precursor of neurotensin (NT) and neuromedin N (NN). PE mRNA and NT/NN mRNA were quantitated in multiple brain areas of 5- and 24-month-old male Fischer 344 rats. Aging, but not chronic ethanol consumption, altered PE mRNA and peptide levels. Aging was accompanied by a loss of PE peptide and PE mRNA in the rostral striatum. In aged rats, PE mRNA was also reduced in the shell region of the nucleus accumbens. The decline in PE mRNA in the rostral striatum and shell region of the nucleus accumbens was caused by a reduction in the number of cells that contain PE mRNA. The percentage of PE mRNA-containing neurons that express a high amount of PE mRNA was also lower in the rostral striatum of 24-month-old rats. The effects of aging may impair motor function and alter the rewarding properties of ethanol consumption. Neither aging nor alcohol changed the PE mRNA levels in the core region of the nucleus accumbens, the frontal cortex, and the piriform cortex. In contrast to PE mRNA, neither aging nor chronic ethanol consumption affected NT/NN mRNA in the regions analyzed. Normal NT/NN mRNA levels were found in the lateral septum and two hippocampal brain areas: the dorsal subiculum and CA1 regions.

Age Factors↗

Similar increases in extracellular lactic acid in the limbic system during epileptic and/or olfactory stimulation.

Previous studies have shown that physiological stimulation of brain activity increases anaerobic glucose consumption, both in humans and in experimental animals. To investigate this phenomenon further, we measured extracellular lactate levels within different rat brain regions, using microdialysis. Experiments were performed comparing the effects of natural, physiological olfactory stimulation of the limbic system with experimental limbic seizures. Olfactory stimulation was carried out by using different odors (i.e. both conventional odors: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, green pepper essence; thymol; and 2-sec-butylthiazoline, a sexual pheromone). Limbic seizures were either induced by systemic injection of pilocarpine (200-400 mg/kg) or focally elicited by microinfusions of chemoconvulsants (bicuculline 118 pmol and cychlothiazide 1.2 nmol) within the anterior piriform cortex. Seizures induced by systemic pilocarpine tripled lactic acid within the hippocampus, whereas limbic seizures elicited by focal microinfusion of chemoconvulsants within the piriform cortex produced a less pronounced increase in extracellular lactic acid. Increases in extracellular lactate occurring during olfactory stimulation with the sexual pheromone (three times the baseline levels) were non-significantly different from those occurring after systemic pilocarpine. Increases in lactic acid following natural olfactory stimulation were abolished both by olfactory bulbectomy and by the focal microinfusion of tetrodotoxin, while they were significantly attenuated by the local application of the N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonist AP-5. Increases in hippocampal lactate induced by short-lasting stimuli (olfactory stimulation or microinfusion of subthreshold doses of chemoconvulsants, bicuculline 30 pmol) were reproducible after a short delay (1 h) and cumulated when applied sequentially. In contrast, limbic status epilepticus led to a long-lasting refractoriness to additional lactate-raising stimuli and there was no further increase in lactate levels when the olfactory stimulation was produced during status epilepticus. Increases in lactic acid following olfactory stimulation occurred with site specificity in the rhinencephalon (hippocampus, piriform and entorhinal cortex) but not in the dorsal striatum. Site specificity crucially relied on the quality of the stimulus. For instance, other natural stimuli (i.e. tail pinch) produced a similar increase in extracellular lactate in all brain areas under investigation. The major conclusion of this work is that the presentation of an odor known to be a rat pheromone results in lactate production as great as that induced by the systemic convulsant pylocarpine (maximum: 2.286+/-0.195 mM and 1.803+/-0.108 mM, respectively). This supports the notion that the great magnitude of lactate production known to accompany seizures can result from the intensified neural activity per se ("aerobic gycolysis"), not merely from local anoxia or other pathological changes.

2-Amino-5-phosphonovalerate↗

An AMPA glutamatergic receptor activation-nitric oxide synthesis step signals transsynaptic apoptosis in limbic cortex.

We have previously shown that pyramidal neurons engaged in cortico-cortical connectivity in limbic cortex are vulnerable to denervation lesions, i.e. relay pyramidal neurons in layer II of piriform cortex undergo transsynaptic apoptosis after lesions interrupting their inputs from the olfactory bulb (bulbotomies). At least one trigger of this transsynaptic degenerative phenomenon is the activation of inhibitory interneurons in layer I, which are induced to upregulate neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) and release NO. Thus, we have demonstrated that cortical interneurons play an essential role in transducing injury to apoptotic signaling that selectively targets pyramidal neurons. In the present study, we confirm the role of nNOS with pharmacological inhibition of a significant approximately 30% of transsynaptic apoptosis with the selective nNOS inhibitor BRNI at optimal doses. Outcomes were studied both at the histological and molecular level using DNA blots. We also show that the first-generation competitive non-NMDA (AMPA) antagonist NBQX ameliorates transsynaptic apoptosis by the same margin of difference as BRNI and it also reduces nNOS activation as indicated by a significant decrease in NADPH diaphorase histochemical activity in layer I of piriform cortex. Our findings confirm the role of nNOS activation/NO release in transsynaptic apoptosis and show that glutamatergic agonism at AMPA sites also plays a significant role. In addition, our data suggest that AMPA agonism may occur upstream to nNOS upregulation in inhibitory interneurons of layer I. In concert, our findings indicate that transsynaptic neuronal degeneration in limbic cortex involves complex AMPA-glutamatergic and nitrinergic signaling events. An AMPA-mediated upregulation of nNOS and release of NO by inhibitory interneurons may play a prominent role in this type of injury.

Animals↗

The pattern of neuronal injury following seizures induced by intranigral kainic acid.

The substantia nigra pars reticulosa (SNpr) is involved in the initiation and propagation of seizures within the limbic system (cingulate and parahippocampal gyri and associated connections in the brain stem, e.g. amygdala, hypothalamus, some thalamic nuclei, and parts of basal ganglia). We have investigated the pattern of neuronal injury (using heat shock protein (HSP) expression) and cell death (acid-fuchsin (AF) staining) in SNpr and limbic structures following seizures evoked by bilateral intranigral injection of kainic acid. Affected cells were observed predominantly in piriform cortex, amygdala, hippocampal formation, and thalamic nuclei; massive necrosis or hemorrhage occurred in bilateral piriform cortices following prolonged seizures. The piriform cortex may play an important role in the activation of limbic seizures under the regulation of the SNpr.

Animals↗

Developmental expression of the transcription factor zif268 in rat brain.

Changes in the distribution pattern of mRNA encoding the zif268 transcription factor (also referred to as NGFI-A, Krox-24 or EGR-1) were investigated by in situ hybridization histochemistry during postnatal rat brain development. Marked changes in zif268 expression patterns were seen in particular in the cerebral cortex and the hippocampal formation during the first 3 wk. In the 1st postnatal week, zif268 mRNA levels were highest in the corpus striatum and the piriform cortex. In the neocortex, expression rose sharply in the sensorymotor area between postnatal days (PNDs) 10 and 12. In the frontal and occipital cortex, in contrast, an increase in zif268 mRNA levels was first seen on PND 14. After PND 17, levels decreased in the sensorymotor and the frontal cortex but remained high in the occipital and the piriform cortex. In the hippocampus, an initially uniform increase in expression during the 2nd week was followed by a marked dissociation in expression levels between CA1, with continuously high expression levels on the one hand, and CA3, CA4 and the dentate gyrus, with a strong decline of expression during the 3rd week, on the other hand. Our results indicate that zif268 expression displays a highly dynamic expression pattern during plastic adaptations of different cerebral subregions during postnatal development, suggesting a possible involvement in gene regulatory processes during these phases.

Animals↗

Perirhinal cortex involvement in limbic kindled seizures.

Investigations into the anatomical substrate of temporal lobe epilepsy have yielded a number of important observations regarding the involvement of the piriform and perirhinal cortical areas in temporal lobe seizure propagation. Although early reports indirectly suggested that the circuits of the piriform cortex might act as a critical conduit for limbic seizure discharges to access motor systems, recent reports more strongly implicate the perirhinal cortex in this process. In the following report, we provide a brief summary of the earlier work involving the piriform cortex and its potential involvement in kindled limbic seizures. This is followed then by the results of several recent in vivo and in vitro electrophysiological studies that ascribe a critical importance for the perirhinal cortex in convulsive limbic seizures. Finally, since our anatomical studies indicated that the perirhinal cortex densely innervates the frontal motor cortex, we examined the involvement of this latter region in amygdala kindled seizures using the reversible functional lesion of cortical spreading depression. Based on these findings we suggest that the circuits of the perirhinal cortex may be important in the amplification and distribution of temporal lobe seizure discharges, providing access to structures that are capable of driving a convulsive response.

Amygdala↗

Attentional modulation in human primary olfactory cortex.

Central to the concept of attention is the fact that identical stimuli can be processed in different ways. In olfaction, attention may designate the identical flow of air through the nose as either respiration or olfactory exploration. Here we have used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to probe this attentional mechanism in primary olfactory cortex (POC). We report a dissociation in POC that revealed attention-dependent and attention-independent subregions. Whereas a temporal subregion comprising temporal piriform cortex (PirT) responded equally across conditions, a frontal subregion comprising frontal piriform cortex (PirF) and the olfactory tubercle responded preferentially to attended sniffs as opposed to unattended sniffs. In addition, a task-specific anticipatory response occurred in the attention-dependent region only. This dissociation was consistent across two experimental designs: one focusing on sniffs of clean air, the other focusing on odor-laden sniffs. Our findings highlight the role of attention at the earliest cortical levels of olfactory processing.

Adult↗

Age has a similar influence on the susceptibility to NMDA antagonist-induced neurodegeneration in most brain regions.

NMDA antagonists are of potential therapeutic benefit for several conditions. However, their ability to produce neurotoxicity and psychosis has hampered their clinical use. A better understanding of these side effects and the mechanism underlying them could result in their safer use and in improving our understanding of psychotic illnesses. By disinhibiting certain multisynaptic circuits, moderate doses of NMDA antagonists produce reversible neurotoxicity in the retrosplenial cortex in rats older than 1 month. Higher doses of these same agents result in the death of neurons in the retrosplenial cortex and several other brain regions. It is unknown whether susceptibility to this irreversible neurodegeneration has a similar age dependency profile. We, therefore, examined the sensitivity of rats of various ages (PND20-60) to the irreversible neurodegenerative effect of the selective NMDA antagonist, MK-801. Quantification of the severity of neurodegeneration with stereology revealed that the retrosplenial cortex, induseum griseum, and dentate gyrus had decreasing amounts of damage with decreasing age and onset of sensitivity around PND30. The piriform cortex also displayed a decreased amount of degeneration in younger age groups. However, a low level of degeneration continued to occur in the posterior piriform cortex in the PND20-25 animals. The stage of degeneration appeared to be more advanced, suggesting that these neurons were dying by a different mechanism. We conclude that for most neuronal populations, susceptibility to the irreversible and reversible neurodegenerative effects of NMDA antagonists has a similar age dependency profile, consistent with the proposal that the same disinhibitory mechanism underlies both neurotoxicities.

Age Factors↗

Long-term decrease in the hippocampal [3H]inositoltriphosphate binding following repeated electroshock in the rat.

A quantitative autoradiographic study was made on the binding of the phosphatidylinositol system ligand [3H]inositol(1,4,5)-triphosphate (IP3) to forebrain sections from electroconvulsive shock (ECS)-treated rats. One group of rats was sacrificed 1 day and 1 month, respectively, after 12 ECSs administered three times weekly for 4 weeks. SHAM-stimulated rats served as controls. A single ECS did not change the [3H]IP3 binding in any of the brain regions examined. One day after the last of 12 ECSs, a decrease in [3H]IP3 binding (21%) was found within the CA1 region of the hippocampus and the piriform cortex (39%). In rats sacrificed 1 month after the last of 12 ECSs, the [3H]IP3 binding in piriform cortex had returned to control level. In the CA1 region of the hippocampus, the binding was still decreased (24%). It is possible that changes in the phosphatidylinositol system may play a part in the neurobiological events responsible for the therapeutic effect of electroconvulsive therapy.

Animals↗

Expression of polysialylated neural cell adhesion molecule in rat brain after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion.

The highly polysialylated form of neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM) is important for neurite outgrowth. With this molecule as a marker of plastic change in neurons, we investigated its temporal expression in rat brain after transient middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion. In sham-control brain, only subependymal neurons showed a positive immunoreactivity for PSA-NCAM. After 90 min of transient MCA occlusion, neurons in the piriform cortex began to be positively stained at 1 h, while neurons in the cortex and caudate of the MCA territory became positive after 8 h. The stainings persisted for 1 and 3 days after reperfusion. The present results indicate that neurons in the cerebral cortex and caudate have the capability of plastic change in the adult brain, and that those in the piriform cortex rapidly undergo plastic change probably in response to transneuronal injury.

Animals↗