Neuroscience
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Prenatal hypoxia (PH) is one of the most common adverse stimulation during pregnancy. The brain is fragile in the fetal period and sensitive to hypoxia. The offspring who have experienced PH may be at increased risk of developing neurodevelopmental disorders after birth and various neuropsychiatric diseases after adulthood. ⋯ The expression of the oxygen-sensitive subunit of hypoxia-inducible factor (Hif-1α) was significantly elevated, whereas Ten-eleven translocated methylcytosine dioxygenase 1 (Tet1) and c-Myc, which is closely related to cell proliferation, were significantly decreased in the hippocampus of the male offspring in the PH group. In addition, the PH group showed increased binding of Hif-1α to Tet1, and decreased binding of Tet1 to c-Myc, resulting in increased ubiquitinated degradation of c-Myc and decreased neurogenesis in the hippocampus of the male offspring. These findings suggest that Hif-1α regulates Tet1-c-Myc binding involved in depression-like behavior in PH offspring and Hif-1α can be used as a detection index of stress-related diseases.
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Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a neurogenerative disorder characterized by the death of dopaminergic neurons in the Substantia Nigra pars compacta (SNpc), leading to motor, cognitive, learning, and respiratory dysfunctions. New evidence revealed that breathing impairment in PD mainly results from oxidative stress (OS) that initiates apoptotic signaling in respiratory neurons. Here, we investigated the role of OS inhibition using apocynin (non-specific NADPH oxidase inhibitor) in a 6-OHDA PD animal model in the neural control of breathing. ⋯ After 20 days of apocynin treatment, neurodegeneration of respiratory nuclei and breathing dysfunction in 6-OHDA animals were prevented. Thus, OS contributes to respiratory neuron death, consequently leading to breathing dysfunction in the 6-OHDA PD animal model. Furthermore, these results present a new perspective for preventing the onset and progression of PD-related respiratory impairments.
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Language is a remarkable cognitive ability that can be expressed through visual (written language) or auditory (spoken language) modalities. When visual characters and auditory speech convey conflicting information, individuals may selectively attend to either one of them. However, the dominant modality in such a competing situation and the neural mechanism underlying it are still unclear. ⋯ Results showed a prominent auditory dominance when audio-visual competition occurred. Specifically, higher accuracy (ACC), larger N400 amplitudes and more linkages in the posterior occipital-parietal areas were demonstrated in the auditory mismatch condition compared to that in the visual mismatch condition. Our research illustrates the superiority of the auditory speech over the visual characters, extending our understanding of the neural mechanisms of audio-visual competition in Chinese.
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Evidence from animal research, postmortem analyses, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) investigations indicate substantial morphological alteration in brain structure as a function of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or cocaine dependence (CD). Although previous research on HIV+ active cocaine users suggests the presence of deleterious morphological effects in excess of either condition alone, a yet unexplored question is whether there is a similar deleterious interaction in HIV+ individuals with CD who are currently abstinent. To this end, the combinatorial effects of HIV and CD history on regional brain volume, cortical thickness, and neurocognitive performance was examined across four groups of participants in an exploratory study: healthy controls (n = 34), HIV-negative individuals with a history of CD (n = 21), HIV+ individuals with no history of CD (n = 20), HIV+ individuals with a history of CD (n = 15). ⋯ While descriptively, individuals with comorbid HIV and a history of CD exhibited the lowest neurocognitive performance scores, using Principle Component Analysis of neurocognitive testing data, HIV was identified as the primary driver of neurocognitive impairment. Higher caudate volume was evident in CD+ participants relative to CD- participants. Findings indicate no evidence of compounded differences in neurocognitive function or structural measures of brain integrity in HIV+ individuals in recovery from CD relative to individuals with only one condition.