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The connections of the endopiriform nucleus with the insular claustrum in the rat and rabbit.

The connections between two parts of the claustrum in the rat and rabbit were studied using the highly fluorescent lipophilic carbocyanine dye (Dil). After the application of Dil crystal into the endopiriform nucleus, labeled fibers in the insular claustrum were observed in its part directly neighboring the insular cortex and capsula externa. Additionally, numerous projections into the piriform, insular and entorhinal cortices were present. The presence of connections between the endopiriform nucleus and insular claustrum suggests its role concerned with the processes taking part in the allocortical regions as well as in the limbic system.

Animals↗

Fos induction following systemic kainic acid: early expression in hippocampus and later widespread expression correlated with seizure.

We determined the distribution of Fos protein expression in a model of generalised epilepsy caused by excessive neuronal excitation. Fos immunoreactivity was mapped in forebrain in unrestrained rats, previously prepared with an indwelling venous catheter, after the intravenous administration of kainic acid (10 mg/kg). We determined cerebral activation following various periods of exposure to kainic acid by using intravenous administration of pentobarbitone to prevent further activation. Within a few minutes, kainic acid caused episodes of staring, sniffing, wet dog shakes, nodding and chewing. Fos induction occurred initially and simultaneously in hippocampus, subiculum, septum and entorhinal cortex as early as 9.5 min after kainate injection. After up to 40 min of staring, sniffing, wet dog shakes, nodding and chewing, Fos induction was not further increased above levels present within the first 9.5 min. After 56 +/- 6 min a motor convulsion occurred, initially affecting the jaw, head and tail and variably extending to the forelimbs, trunk or hindlimbs. Following the convulsive event, additional Fos was expressed in hippocampus, thalamus, caudate-putamen and other subcortical structures and in the cerebral cortex. Fos induction was sometimes asymmetric in entorhinal, visual, piriform, cingulum, parietal and frontal cortices and in amygdala and dorsal endopiriform area. Electroencephalographic recordings after a few minutes exposure to kainic acid revealed an increased amplitude of fast frequencies in hippocampus which appeared to correlate with Fos induction in this structure. The findings are generally consistent with the reported distribution and slow development of kainic acid-induced seizure activity using electrophysiological and deoxyglucose methods. However, the Fos distribution suggests that (i) hippocampal, possibly dentate, activation precedes significant activation elsewhere, (ii) extensive involvement of other cerebral structures and cerebral cortex occurs simultaneously and correlates with motor seizures and (iii) brain structures can be recruited asymmetrically.

Animals↗

Metabolism is normal in astrocytes in chronically epileptic rats: a (13)C NMR study of neuronal-glial interactions in a model of temporal lobe epilepsy.

The aim of the present work was to study potential disturbances in metabolism and interactions between neurons and glia in the lithium-pilocarpine model of temporal lobe epilepsy. Rats chronically epileptic for 1 month received [1-(13)C]glucose, a substrate for neurons and astrocytes, and [1,2-(13)C]acetate, a substrate for astrocytes only. Analyses of extracts from cerebral cortex, cerebellum, and hippocampal formation (hippocampus, amygdala, entorhinal, and piriform cortices) were performed using (13)C and (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and HPLC. In the hippocampal formation of epileptic rats, levels of glutamate, aspartate, N-acetyl aspartate, adenosine triphosphate plus adenosine diphosphate and glutathione were decreased. In all regions studied, labeling from [1,2-(13)C]acetate was similar in control and epileptic rats, indicating normal astrocytic metabolism. However, labeling of glutamate, GABA, aspartate, and alanine from [1-(13)C]glucose was decreased in all areas possibly reflecting neuronal loss. The labeling of glutamine from [1-(13)C]glucose was decreased in cerebral cortex and cerebellum and unchanged in hippocampal formation. In conclusion, no changes were detected in glial-neuronal interactions in the hippocampal formation while in cortex and cerebellum the flow of glutamate to astrocytes was decreased, indicating a disturbed glutamate-glutamine cycle. This is, to our knowledge, the first study showing that metabolic disturbances are confined to neurons inside the epileptic circuit.

Acetates↗

Decrease in glial glutamate transporter variants and excitatory amino acid receptor down-regulation in a murine model of ALS-PDC.

Glutamate transporter proteins appear crucial to controlling levels of glutamate in the central nervous system (CNS). Abnormal and/or decreased levels of various transporters have been observed in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) and in other neurological disorders. We have assessed glutamate transporter (GLT-1/EAAT2) levels in mice fed washed cycad flour containing a suspected neurotoxin that induces features resembling the Guamanian disorder, ALS-PDC. Down-regulation of glutamate transporter subtypes was detected by immunohistology using antibodies specific for two glial glutamate transporter splice variants (GLT-1alpha and GLT-1B). Immunohistology showed a "patchy" loss of antibody label with the patches centered on blood vessels. Computer densitometry showed significantly decreased GLT-1alpha levels in the spinal cord and primary somatosensory cortex of cycad-fed mice. GLT-1B levels were significantly decreased in the spinal cord, in the motor, somatosensory, and piriform cortices, and in the striatum. Western blots showed a 40% decrease in frontal motor cortex and lumbar spinal cord of cycad-fed mice that appeared to be phosphorylation-dependent. Receptor-binding assays showed decreased NMDA and AMPA receptor levels and increased GABAA receptor levels in cycad-fed mice cortex. These receptor data are consistent with an increased level of extracellular glutamate. The generalized decrease in GLT-1, decreased excitatory amino acid receptor levels, and increased GABAA receptor levels may reflect an early glutamate-mediated excitotoxicity following cycad exposure. Deciphering the series of events leading to neurodegeneration in cycad-fed animals may provide clues leading to therapeutic approaches to halt the early stages of disease progression.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis↗

Organization of projections from the basomedial nucleus of the amygdala: a PHAL study in the rat.

The organization of axonal projections from the basomedial nucleus of the amygdala (BMA) was examined with the Phaseolus vulgaris leucoagglutinin (PHAL) method in adult male rats. The anterior and posterior parts of the BMA, recognized on cytoarchitectonic grounds, display very different projection patterns. Within the amygdala, the anterior basomedial nucleus (BMAa) heavily innervates the central, medial, and anterior cortical nuclei. In contrast, the posterior basomedial nucleus (BMAp) sends a dense projection to the lateral nucleus, and to restricted parts of the central and medial nuclei. Extra-amygdalar projections from the BMA are divided into ascending and descending components. The former end in the cerebral cortex, striatum, and septum. The BMAa mainly innervates olfactory (piriform, transitional) and insular areas, whereas the BMAp also innervates inferior temporal (perirhinal, ectorhinal) and medial prefrontal (infralimbic, prelimbic) areas and the hippocampal formation. Within the striatum, the BMAa densely innervates the striatal fundus, whereas the nucleus accumbens receives a heavy input from the BMAp. Both parts of the BMA send massive projections to distinct regions of the bed nuclei of the stria terminalis. Descending projections from the BMA end primarily in the hypothalamus. The BMAa sends a major input to the lateral hypothalamic area, whereas the BMAp innervates the ventromedial nucleus particularly heavily. Injections were also placed in the anterior cortical nucleus (COAa), a cell group superficially adjacent to the BMAa. PHAL-labeled axons from this cell group mainly ascend into the amygdala and olfactory areas, and descend into the thalamus and lateral hypothalamic area. Based on connections, the COAa and BMAa are part of the same functional system. The results suggest that cytoarchitectonically distinct anterior and posterior parts of the BMA are also hodologically distinct and form parts of distinct anatomical circuits probably involved in mediating different behaviors (for example, feeding and social behaviors vs. emotion-related learning, respectively).

Amygdala↗

Volumetric magnetic resonance imaging of functionally relevant structural alterations in chronic epilepsy after pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus in rats.

PURPOSE: After pilocarpine-induced epilepsy in rats, volumetric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) reveals significant morphologic changes in functionally relevant structures of the brain. To relate structural changes to functional alteration, we studied the correlation of regional brain atrophy (e.g., of the hippocampus) with lesion-induced learning deficits in the Morris water maze. METHODS: MRI experiments were performed on an MR scanner at 4.7 Tesla. For volumetric analysis, various cerebral structures were segmented in horizontal and coronal T(2)-weighted MR images. Before the MRI investigations, animals were trained for 10 days in a Morris water maze. RESULTS: Volumetric MRI revealed a significant loss in hippocampal size in both the dorsal and ventral parts, correlated with an increase in ventricular size. Furthermore, significant losses were found in the relative size of thalamus, putamen, cortex, and the combined areas of perirhinal, entorhinal, and piriform cortices adjacent to the hippocampus. A significant correlation of learning performance in the Morris water maze with the relative hippocampal area and not with other areas tested was observed in pilocarpine-treated animals. CONCLUSIONS: The data provide a quantitative analysis of functionally relevant structural alterations in rats with chronic epilepsy. Water maze performance of pilocarpine-treated animals correlates with the degree of hippocampal but not with the degree of cortical damage, demonstrating the potential of this method for the investigation of cognitive impairments in relation to cerebral changes. In addition, the data point to an important role of even the residual hippocampus in memory formation.

Animals↗

The "neostriatum" develops as part of the lateral pallium in birds.

Telencephalic organization in birds is so unusual that many homologies between avian and mammalian telencephalic areas remain controversial. Particularly contested is the avian "neostriatum," which has historically been homologized to either mammalian striatum, lateral neocortex, or endopiriform claustrum. Because homologies between these adult structures have been so difficult to resolve, we have begun to examine how telencephalic development diverges between birds and other vertebrates. To this end, biotinylated dextran was injected into the lateral telencephalon of chick embryos at 3 d of incubation, and the distribution of labeled cells was examined up to 14 d later. The data show that a definite boundary to cellular migration develops just ventral to the neostriatum between 5 and 8 d of incubation. Labeled polyclones within the neostriatum stretch from the ventricular zone to the brain surface and exhibit an increasingly rostrocaudal orientation as development proceeds. Individual polyclones contribute cells to several of the distinct auditory, visual, somatosensory, and olfactory regions within the neostriatum. A comparative analysis suggests that the avian neostriatum develops from a precursor region that in other vertebrates gives rise to olfactory cortex and, when present, to other components of the piriform lobe, such as the endopiriform claustrum and basolateral amygdala. Conclusions about lateral pallial homologies between birds and mammals remain uncertain, however, primarily because so little is known about the development of the lateral pallium in mammals. This lacuna might be filled by applying to mammals the novel fate-mapping method described in the present paper.

Animals↗

Alcohol-naïve alcohol-preferring (P) rats exhibit higher local cerebral glucose utilization than alcohol-nonpreferring (NP) and Wistar rats.

BACKGROUND: The present study determined local cerebral glucose utilization (LCGU) rates in alcohol-naïve alcohol-preferring (P), alcohol nonpreferring (NP), and outbred Wistar rats to test the hypothesis that innate differences in functional neuronal activity are present in limbic regions as a result of selective breeding for high-alcohol drinking behavior. METHODS: All procedures were conducted during the dark cycle. 2-[14C]deoxyglucose ([14C]2-DG; 125 microCi/kg) was injected intravenously and timed arterial blood samples were collected during the following 45 min and assayed for glucose and [14C]2-DG content. Rats were then decapitated, the brains removed and frozen to -70 degrees C, and 20 microm coronal sections were prepared for quantitative autoradiographic analysis. RESULTS: Rates of LCGU were determined in 55 regions and subregions, including limbic, cortical, and subcortical structures. LCGU rates were significantly (p < 0.01) higher in several limbic (e.g., ventral tegmental area, nucleus accumbens shell, olfactory tubercle, medial prefrontal cortex, and lateral hypothalamus), cortical (e.g., parietal, temporal, occipital, cingulate, piriform, and entorhinal), and subcortical (e.g., thalamus, habenula, preoptic area, and striatum) regions in P rats, compared with NP and Wistar rats, whereas rates in Wistar rats were higher in a few regions (e.g., CA1 and CA3 regions of the posterior hippocampus) than NP rats. CONCLUSIONS: The data suggest that selective breeding for high-alcohol drinking produces intrinsically higher functional neuronal activity in the central nervous system regions of the high-alcohol consuming P line compared with low-alcohol drinking NP or Wistar rats, although these differences may not generalize to other rat lines selectively bred for divergent alcohol drinking.

Alcoholism↗

Regional cerebral cortical activation in monoamine oxidase A-deficient mice: differential effects of chronic versus acute elevations in serotonin and norepinephrine.

Mice deficient in monoamine oxidase A have previously been shown to demonstrate a chronic elevation of serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain. Using the autoradiographic [14C]iodo-antipyrine method, we examined cerebral cortical blood flow in conscious, restrained four- to five-month-old knock-out and wild-type animals following the intraperitoneal administration of either saline or D-fenfluramine. Knock-out animals administered saline, compared to their wild-type counterparts, demonstrated a significantly higher regional cortical blood flow in somatosensory and barrel field neocortex, an area which previous histological studies have shown to be characterized by abnormal serotonergic projection fibers and absent barrel formation. Regional cortical blood flow was significantly lower in knock-out than in wild-type mice in the entorhinal and midline motor cortex, with non-significant decreases noted in the olfactory, piriform and retrosplenial cortices and the amygdala. We compared the above findings to those obtained in response to D-fenfluramine which, in conjunction with its metabolite D-norfenfluramine, results in acute elevations of brain levels of serotonin and norepinephrine. Administration of D-fenfluramine (21. 2mg/kg) resulted in changes in regional cortical perfusion in most brain regions of both knock-out and wild-type mice that were opposite to the genotypic differences seen in perfusion in response to saline. Fenfluramine significantly increased regional cortical blood flow in the allocortex (olfactory, piriform, entorhinal) and the amygdala, and significantly decreased regional cortical blood flow in the somatosensory, barrel field, midline motor and retrosplenial cortices. Changes in regional perfusion in response to fenfluramine were topographically equivalent in knock-out and wild-type mice, although in knock-out mice such changes were of greater magnitude. Our study suggests that the effects on regional cortical blood flow of a lifelong absence of monoamine oxidase A, and the consequent chronic increase in serotonin and norepinephrine, differ from those attributable to acute increases in these neurotransmitters following fenfluramine administration. Such a differential response may reflect neurodevelopmental abnormalities and/or effects of a chronic physiological adaptation on the regulation of cortical activation.

Animals↗

The claustrum is not missing from all monotreme brains.

Many authors have reported that the claustrum, which comprises the insular claustrum and the endopiriform nucleus, is missing from the monotreme forebrain. We used Nissl and myelin staining in conjunction with enzyme histochemistry for acetylcholinesterase and immunohistochemistry for parvalbumin, calbindin, calretinin and tyrosine hydroxylase to examine the brains of two monotremes, the short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) and the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus). We found that although the insular claustrum is a small structure in the echidna brain, it is nevertheless clearly present as loosely clustered neurons embedded in the white matter ventrolateral to the putamen and deep to the piriform and entorhinal cortices. Neurons in this region share the chemical features of the adjacent cortex (presence of a similar proportion of parvalbumin immunoreactive neurons and minimal activity for acetylcholinesterase and tyrosine hydroxylase), unlike the adjacent putamen and ventral pallidum. A putative endopiriform nucleus can be identified in the interior of the piriform lobe of the echidna as calretinin immunoreactive neurons embedded within the white matter. The situation is much less clear in the platypus, but our data suggest that there may be an insular claustrum deep to frontal cortex, separated from layer VI by only a thin layer of white matter. We could not identify an endopiriform nucleus in our platypus material. Our findings indicate that presence of the claustrum cannot be considered a feature confined to therian mammals and lend weight to arguments that this structure was present in the ancestral mammalian brain.

Acetylcholinesterase↗

Distribution of immunoreactive beta-neo-endorphin in discrete areas of the rat brain and pituitary gland: comparison with alpha-neo-endorphin.

The distribution of immunoreactive (ir)-beta-neo-endorphin in 101 microdissected rat brain and spinal cord regions as well as in the neurointermediate lobe of pituitary gland was determined using a highly specific radioimmunoassay. The highest concentration of beta-neo-endorphin in brain was found in the median eminence (341.4 fmol/mg of protein). High concentrations of ir-beta-neo-endorphin (greater than 250 fmol/mg of protein) were found in 11 nuclei, including dorsomedial nucleus, substantia nigra, parabrachial nuclei, periaqueductal gray matter, anterior hypothalamic nucleus, and lateral preoptic areas. Moderate concentrations of the peptide (between 100 and 250 fmol/mg of protein) were found in 66 brain nuclei such as the amygdaloid and septal nuclei, most of the diencephalic structures (not including the hypothalamus), and the majority of the medulla oblongata nuclei and others. Low concentrations of ir-beta-neo-endorphin (less than 100 fmol/mg of protein) were found in 21 nuclei, e.g., cortical structures (frontal., cingulate, piriform, parietal, entorhinal, occipital), olfactory tubercle, and cerebellum (nuclei and cortex). The olfactory bulb has the lowest beta-neo-endorphin concentration (21.3 fmol/mg of protein). Spinal cord segments exhibit low peptide concentrations. The neurointermediate lobe of the pituitary gland is extremely rich in ir-beta-neo-endorphin.

Animals↗

Kainic acid-induced excitotoxicity is associated with a complex c-Fos and c-Jun response which does not preclude either cell death or survival.

c-fos and c-jun mRNA induction and c-Fos and c-Jun protein expression were examined in the brains of adult rats subjected to systemic kainic acid (KA) injection at convulsant doses. Induction of c-fos and c-jun mRNA, as seen with in situ hybridization, occurred in the piriform and entorhinal cortices, neocortex, amygdala, hippocampus, dentate gyrus, and discrete thalamic nuclei. This was followed by c-Fos protein expression, as revealed with immunohistochemistry, in the same regions. However, the distribution of c-Jun protein expression differed depending on the antibody used. The distribution of cells immunostained with the antibody c-Jun (AB-1) was similar to that of c-jun mRNA, but the distribution of cells immunostained with the antibody c-Jun/AP1 (N) was restricted to a few neurons in the pyramidal cell layer of CA1 and CA3, layer II of the piriform and entorhinal cortices, basal amygdala, and discrete thalamic nuclei. Although the regional distribution of c-Fos- and c-Jun-immunoreactive cells in the hippocampus, layer II of the entorhinal and piriform cortices, basal amygdala, and discrete thalamic nuclei matched the distribution of cells committed to dying, c-Fos- and c-Jun-immunoreactive cells in the neocortex and dentate gyrus survived. Therefore, the present data show that c-fos and c-jun are not predictors of either cell death or survival, but rather, markers of cells sensitive to KA excitotoxicity. Western blots to c-Fos showed a double band at p62 in samples containing the hippocampus and entorhinal and piriform cortices (hip samples) and in samples containing the neocortex (cortex samples). The upper band was abolished following preincubation of the samples with alkaline phosphatase, thus suggesting c-Fos phosphorylation. Western blots to c-Jun (AB-1) showed a single band at about p39 in hip and cortex. However, Western blots to c-Jun/AP1 (N) identified two bands. One band at about p39 was seen in control rats and the cortex of KA-treated rats. Another band at p26 was observed only in hip samples of KA-treated rats. In addition, decreased c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1 (JNK-1) expression, as revealed on Western blots, was coincidental with the appearance of the p26 c-Jun-immunoreactive band in KA-treated rats. These results show that c-Fos and different Jun-related antigens are expressed following KA excitotoxicity, and that posttranslational modifications involving phosphorylation of c-Fos and Jun(s) may occur following KA injection. These results also stress the necessity of examining the composition of Fos and Jun-related antigens and the metabolic state of Fos and Jun(s) in different experimental models of nervous system injury.

Animals↗

Mapping patterns of neuronal activity and seizure propagation by imaging intrinsic optical signals in the isolated whole brain of the guinea-pig.

Image analysis techniques were used to examine changes in the intrinsic optical properties in the isolated brain of the guinea-pig in order to map normal neuronal activity patterns and seizure propagation in the olfactory cortex. Electrical stimulation of the lateral olfactory tract decreased light reflectance in distant cortical areas where fibres of the tract are known to project. These areas included the amygdalar, anterior and posterior piriform, and entorhinal cortices, as well as the olfactory tubercle. Stimulation of the lateral entorhinal cortex decreased reflectance in a more circumscribed area in the lateral and medial entorhinal cortex. By imaging intrinsic signals in real-time, we also demonstrated that seizure activity elicited in the entorhinal cortex/hippocampus preferentially propagated to the posteromedial cortical amygdaloid nucleus. The magnitudes of the intrinsic optical signals were correlated with the amplitudes of field potentials recorded in laminae II or III of the olfactory cortex of the same preparations. These signals had onset times of approximately 3 s during 5 Hz stimulation, consistently recovered and were graded with stimulation frequency. The generation of the intrinsic signals required postsynaptic activation, since attenuating synaptic transmission with kynurenic acid (an excitatory amino acid antagonist) eliminated the signals. The intrinsic signals exhibited maxima at 425-450, 550 and 600 nm, suggesting that they arose from changes in light absorption by cytochromes. Intrinsic signals of relatively constant magnitude were also present at 400, 475-500 and 575 nm, and at wavelengths greater than 600 nm. This suggested that an additional component of the intrinsic signal arose from changes in light scattering, possibly due to cellular swelling.

Animals↗

Carbachol induces fast oscillations in the medial but not in the lateral entorhinal cortex of the isolated guinea pig brain.

Fast oscillations at 25-80 Hz (gamma activity) have been proposed to play a role in attention-related mechanisms and synaptic plasticity in cortical structures. Recently, it has been demonstrated that the preservation of the entorhinal cortex is necessary to maintain gamma oscillations in the hippocampus. Because gamma activity can be reproduced in vitro by cholinergic activation, this study examined the characteristics of gamma oscillations induced by arterial perfusion or local intracortical injections of carbachol in the entorhinal cortex of the in vitro isolated guinea pig brain preparation. Shortly after carbachol administration, fast oscillatory activity at 25.2-28.2 Hz was observed in the medial but not in the lateral entorhinal cortex. Such activity was transiently associated with oscillations in the theta range that showed a variable pattern of distribution in the entorhinal cortex. No oscillatory activity was observed when carbachol was injected in the lateral entorhinal cortex. Gamma activity in the medial entorhinal cortex showed a phase reversal at 200-400 microm, had maximal amplitude at 400-500 microm depth, and was abolished by arterial perfusion of atropine (5 microM). Local carbachol application in the medial entorhinal cortex induced gamma oscillations in the hippocampus, whereas no oscillations were observed in the amygdala and in the piriform, periamygdaloid, and perirhinal cortices ipsilateral and contralateral to the carbachol injection. Hippocampal oscillations had higher frequency than the gamma activity recorded in the entorhinal cortex, suggesting the presence of independent generators in the two structures. The selective ability of the medial but not the lateral entorhinal cortex to generate gamma activity in response to cholinergic activation suggests a differential mode of signal processing in entorhinal cortex subregions.

Animals↗

Spatial learning activates neural cell adhesion molecule polysialylation in a corticohippocampal pathway within the medial temporal lobe.

Transient and time-dependent modulations of neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) polysialylation in the dentate gyrus of the rodent hippocampus are a feature of spatial and nonspatial forms of learning. In the hippocampal formation, polysialic acid immunoreactivity was localized to granule-like cells and their mossy fibre axons. We now demonstrate the latter to extend to the CA3 region where apparent recurrent and Schaffer collaterals were labelled. The axons of the CA1 pyramidal cell layer were immunopositive, as was the subiculum that they innervate. Layers I and III of the entorhinal cortex stained intensely for polysialic acid; however, these were not visible in the more lateral aspect of this region and were replaced by a single band of immunopositive neurons that extended to include the perirhinal and piriform cortices. After Morris water maze training, the number of polysialylated neurons within the entorhinal cortex exhibited a two- to threefold increase at the 10-12-h posttraining time with respect to that observed immediately after training. This increase was task specific, as no change was observed in freely swimming animals or those required to locate a visible platform. These results suggest the presence of a corticohippocampal pathway involved in the eventual consolidation of memory.

Age Factors↗

Glucose-supported oxidative metabolism and evoked potentials are sensitive to fluoroacetate, an inhibitor of glial tricarboxylic acid cycle in the olfactory cortex slice.

Optical absorbance change was measured by reflectance spectrophotometry in the olfactory cortex slice prepared from the rat brain. Optical absorbance of the piriform area of the slice was increased by perifusion with an anoxic (N2-gassed) solution. Components of the absorbance spectrum recorded from the slice in anoxia corresponded to that of cytochromes (cyt) aa3 and c + c1, but did not to that of cyt c. Reduction of cytochromes in anoxia coincided with decrease in the amplitude of the presynaptic potential and a slower negative wave (N-wave). The reduced state of cytochromes switched to an oxidized state when a well-oxygenated solution was reintroduced. An almost complete recovery of redox state coincided with full recovery of the evoked potential. A metabolic inhibitor, 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2DG) (10 mM) or iodoacetic acid (IAA) (3 mM) caused little or slight oxidation of cytochromes, but significantly decreased the amplitude of evoked potentials. Marked oxidation of cytochromes was observed only by perifusion with a solution containing 2 DG (10 mM) and IAA (3 mM). The rate of oxygen uptake was significantly lowered by these metabolic inhibitors. When the slice was perifused with a solution containing fluoroacetate (1 or 10 mM), a selective inhibitor of glial metabolism, cytochromes shifted to oxidized levels. The amplitude of evoked potentials tended to decline by a low dose (1 mM), and significantly decreased by a high dose (10 mM) of fluoroacetate. Oxygen consumption of the slice was dose-relatedly lowered by fluoroacetate.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

Afferent projections of the infralimbic cortex (area 25) in rats: a WGA-HRP study.

The afferent connections of the infralimbic area (area 25) of the medial prefrontal cortex in rats were studied using WGA-HRP as the tracer. The present results confirm previously reported afferent connections of the infralimbic area and further reveal additional inputs from the anterior amygdaloid area, anterior cortical amygdaloid nucleus, posterolateral cortical amygdaloid nucleus, ventral reunions, lateral preoptic area, dorsal hypothalamic area, posterior hypothalamic nucleus, supramammillary nucleus and medial mammillary nucleus. Only afferent projections were found from CA1 of the hippocampus and amygdalo-piriform transition area. The results also confirm extensive afferent connections of the infralimbic cortex from the central autonomic nuclei and, together with previous results on efferent connections of the infralimbic cortex, provide further support for an essential role of this nucleus as a cortical center of the autonomic nervous system.

Afferent Pathways↗

The parahippocampal cortices and kindling.

The piriform and perirhinal cortices are parahippocampal structures with strong connections to limbic structures, including the amygdala and hippocampus, as well as other parahippocampal structures such as the entorhinal cortex. In this paper, we present results, based on anatomical, physiological, and kindling studies, that suggest that the perirhinal and piriform cortices might be very important in the secondary generalization of limbic seizures, particularly those with convulsive expression. These kindling data further suggest that the progressive lowering of afterdischarge thresholds in the parahippocampal structures, due to insult and/or genetic predisposition, might provide the neural basis for the clinical presentation of temporal lobe epilepsy.

Animals↗