Neuroscience letters
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Neuroscience letters · Mar 2015
Prism adaptation power on spatial cognition: adaptation to different optical deviations in healthy individuals.
The main objective of the present study was to determine the minimal optical deviation responsible for cognitive after-effects in healthy individuals and to explore whether there was a relationship between the degree of optical deviation and cognitive after-effects. Therefore different leftward optical deviations (8°, 10° and 15°) were used in three different groups of healthy participants. Sensorimotor after-effects (evaluating the visuo-manual realignment) were assessed using an open-loop pointing task and cognitive after-effects (evaluating changes in spatial representation) were assessed using manual and perceptual (landmark) line bisection tasks. ⋯ All cognitive after-effects were rightward and were similar to mild, neglect-like manifestations. Both sensorimotor and cognitive after-effects were correlated with the degree of optical deviation. Our results are of methodological and theoretical interest to those interested in sensorimotor plasticity and spatial cognition.
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Neuroscience letters · Mar 2015
The ascending reticular activating system from pontine reticular formation to the hypothalamus in the human brain: a diffusion tensor imaging study.
The ascending reticular activating system (ARAS) is responsible for regulation of consciousness. Precise evaluation of the ARAS is important for diagnosis and management of patients with impaired consciousness. In the current study, we attempted to reconstruct the portion of the ARAS from the pontine reticular formation (RF) to the hypothalamus in normal subjects, using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). ⋯ No significant differences in DTI parameters were observed between the left and right hemispheres and between males and females (p<0.05). We identified the ARAS between the pontine RF and the hypothalamus in normal subjects using DTI. We believe that the reconstruction methodology and the results of this study would be useful to clinicians involved in the care of patients with impaired consciousness and researchers in studies of the ARAS.
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Neuroscience letters · Mar 2015
Antisense vimentin cDNA combined with chondroitinase ABC promotes axon regeneration and functional recovery following spinal cord injury in rats.
The formation of glial scar restricts axon regeneration after spinal cord injury (SCI) in adult mammalian. Chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs) are mostly secreted by reactive astrocytes, which form dense scar tissues after SCI. Chondroitinase ABC (ChABC), which can digest CSPGs, is a promising therapeutic strategy for SCI. ⋯ Using anterograde tracing, BBB scoring and hind limb placing response, we found that this combined treatment promoted axon regeneration and functional recovery after SCI in rats. Our results indicate that axon regeneration may be promoted by modified physical and biochemical characteristics of intra- and extracellular architecture in glial scar tissues. Theses findings could potentially help us to understand better the composition of glial scar in central nervous system injury.
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Neuroscience letters · Mar 2015
High frequency transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation with diphenidol administration results in an additive antiallodynic effect in rats following chronic constriction injury.
The impact of coadministration of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and diphenidol is not well established. Here we estimated the effects of diphenidol in combination with TENS on mechanical allodynia and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) expression. Using an animal chronic constriction injury (CCI) model, the rat was estimated for evidence of mechanical sensitivity via von Frey hair stimulation and TNF-α expression in the sciatic nerve using the ELISA assay. ⋯ Both diphenidol and the combination of diphenidol with high frequency TENS inhibited TNF-α expression. A moderately effective dose of diphenidol appeared to have an additive effect with high frequency TENS. Therefore, multidisciplinary treatments could be considered for this kind of mechanical allodynia.
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Neuroscience letters · Mar 2015
Possible involvement of activated locus coeruleus-noradrenergic neurons in pain-related sleep disorders.
The locus coeruleus (LC) is a noradrenergic brainstem structure that is considered to play a role in promoting arousal. To further clarify the role of LC noradrenergic neurons, we performed an optogenetic assay by injecting AAV-channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) into the LC of cre-tyrosine hydrolase (TH) mice. We found here that the specific activation of LC noradrenergic neurons produced a significant increase in wakefulness and a significant decrease in non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep during photostimulation. ⋯ In the present study, sciatic nerve ligation, which produced significant thermal hyperalgesia, significantly increased the levels of noradrenaline released in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) by the weak electrical stimulation of neurons in the LC. Under these conditions, the systemic administration of adrenaline α and β inhibitor cocktail at 7 days after sciatic nerve ligation restored the increased wakefulness and decreased NREM sleep to normal levels. These results suggest that neuropathic pain may accelerate neurons in the LC, and its overactivation may be, at least in part, associated with sleep disturbance under neuropathic pain.