Front Cell Neurosci
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Gastrointestinal (GI) pain is a common clinical problem, for which effective therapy is quite limited. Sensations from the GI tract, including pain, are mediated largely by neurons in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG), and to a smaller extent by vagal afferents emerging from neurons in the nodose/jugular ganglia. Neurons in rodent DRG become hyperexcitable in models of GI pain (e.g., gastric or colonic inflammation), and can serve as a source for chronic pain. ⋯ The contribution of these changes to visceral pain remains to be determined. These results indicate that although visceral pain is unique, it shares basic mechanisms with somatic pain, suggesting that therapeutic approaches to both pain types may be similar. Future research in this field should include additional types of GI injury and also other types of visceral pain.
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Front Cell Neurosci · Jan 2015
ReviewCytoskeletal proteins in cortical development and disease: actin associated proteins in periventricular heterotopia.
The actin cytoskeleton regulates many important cellular processes in the brain, including cell division and proliferation, migration, and cytokinesis and differentiation. These developmental processes can be regulated through actin dependent vesicle and organelle movement, cell signaling, and the establishment and maintenance of cell junctions and cell shape. Many of these processes are mediated by extensive and intimate interactions of actin with cellular membranes and proteins. ⋯ Anatomically, PH is characterized by a smaller brain (impaired proliferation), heterotopia (impaired initial migration) and disruption along the neuroependymal lining (impaired cell-cell adhesion). Genes causal for PH have also been implicated in actin-dependent processes. The current review provides mechanistic insight into actin cytoskeletal regulation of cortical development in the context of this malformation of cortical development.
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Front Cell Neurosci · Jan 2015
Corticotrigeminal Projections from the Insular Cortex to the Trigeminal Caudal Subnucleus Regulate Orofacial Pain after Nerve Injury via Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase Activation in Insular Cortex Neurons.
Cortical neuroplasticity alterations are implicated in the pathophysiology of chronic orofacial pain. However, the relationship between critical cortex excitability and orofacial pain maintenance has not been fully elucidated. We recently demonstrated a top-down corticospinal descending pain modulation pathway from the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) to the spinal dorsal horn that could directly regulate nociceptive transmission. ⋯ Finally, intra-IC infusion of U0126 obviously decreased Fos expression in the Vc, accompanied by the alleviation of both nociceptive behavior and negative emotions. Thus, the corticotrigeminal descending pathway from the IC to the Vc could directly regulate orofacial pain, and ERK deactivation in the IC could effectively alleviate neuropathic pain as well as pain-related negative emotions in IoN-CCI rats, probably through this top-down pathway. These findings may help researchers and clinicians to better understand the underlying modulation mechanisms of orofacial neuropathic pain and indicate a novel mechanism of ERK inhibitor-induced analgesia.
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Front Cell Neurosci · Jan 2015
Developmental axon stretch stimulates neuron growth while maintaining normal electrical activity, intracellular calcium flux, and somatic morphology.
Elongation of nerve fibers intuitively occurs throughout mammalian development, and is synchronized with expansion of the growing body. While most tissue systems enlarge through mitosis and differentiation, elongation of nerve fibers is remarkably unique. The emerging paradigm suggests that axons undergo stretch as contiguous tissues enlarge between the proximal and distal segments of spanning nerve fibers. ⋯ Finally, the cross-sectional areas of nuclei and cytoplasms were normal, with no evidence of chromatolysis following week-long stretch-growth limited to the lower of 25% strain or 3 mm total daily stretch. The neuronal growth cascade coupled to stretch was concluded to be independent of the changes in membrane potential, action potential generation, or calcium flux associated with traumatic injury. While axon stretch-growth is likely to share overlap with regenerative processes, we conclude that developmental stretch is a distinct stimulus from traumatic axon injury.
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Ginseng is one of the most widely used herbal medicines in the world. It has been used in the treatment of various ailments and to boost immunity for centuries; especially in Asian countries. The most common ginseng variant in traditional herbal medicine is ginseng, which is made from the peeled and dried root of Panax Ginseng. ⋯ It can also prevent neuronal death as a result of stroke, thus decreasing anatomical and functional stroke damage. Although there are diverse studies that have investigated the mechanisms involved in the efficacy of ginseng in treating disorders, there is still much that needs to be clarified. Both in vitro and in vivo studies including randomized controlled clinical trials are necessary to develop in-depth knowledge of ginseng and its practical applications.