scholarly journals The Functional and Neurobiological Properties of Bad Taste

2019 ◽  
Vol 99 (1) ◽  
pp. 605-663 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsey A. Schier ◽  
Alan C. Spector
Keyword(s):  
Neural Circuits ◽  
Mammalian Brain ◽  
Gustatory System ◽  
Biologically Relevant ◽  
Neural Architecture ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Experimental Strategies

The gustatory system serves as a critical line of defense against ingesting harmful substances. Technological advances have fostered the characterization of peripheral receptors and have created opportunities for more selective manipulations of the nervous system, yet the neurobiological mechanisms underlying taste-based avoidance and aversion remain poorly understood. One conceptual obstacle stems from a lack of recognition that taste signals subserve several behavioral and physiological functions which likely engage partially segregated neural circuits. Moreover, although the gustatory system evolved to respond expediently to broad classes of biologically relevant chemicals, innate repertoires are often not in register with the actual consequences of a food. The mammalian brain exhibits tremendous flexibility; responses to taste can be modified in a specific manner according to bodily needs and the learned consequences of ingestion. Therefore, experimental strategies that distinguish between the functional properties of various taste-guided behaviors and link them to specific neural circuits need to be applied. Given the close relationship between the gustatory and visceroceptive systems, a full reckoning of the neural architecture of bad taste requires an understanding of how these respective sensory signals are integrated in the brain.

scholarly journals If the skull fits: magnetic resonance imaging and microcomputed tomography for combined analysis of brain and skull phenotypes in the mouse

2012 ◽  
Vol 44 (20) ◽  
pp. 992-1002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian J. Nieman ◽  
Marissa C. Blank ◽  
Brian B. Roman ◽  
R. Mark Henkelman ◽  
Kathleen J. Millen
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Prognostic Significance ◽  
Microcomputed Tomography ◽  
Complete Characterization ◽  
Mammalian Brain ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Brain

The mammalian brain and skull develop concurrently in a coordinated manner, consistently producing a brain and skull that fit tightly together. It is common that abnormalities in one are associated with related abnormalities in the other. However, this is not always the case. A complete characterization of the relationship between brain and skull phenotypes is necessary to understand the mechanisms that cause them to be coordinated or divergent and to provide perspective on the potential diagnostic or prognostic significance of brain and skull phenotypes. We demonstrate the combined use of magnetic resonance imaging and microcomputed tomography for analysis of brain and skull phenotypes in the mouse. Co-registration of brain and skull images allows comparison of the relationship between phenotypes in the brain and those in the skull. We observe a close fit between the brain and skull of two genetic mouse models that both show abnormal brain and skull phenotypes. Application of these three-dimensional image analyses in a broader range of mouse mutants will provide a map of the relationships between brain and skull phenotypes generally and allow characterization of patterns of similarities and differences.

scholarly journals Cre-assisted Fine-mapping of Neural Circuits using Orthogonal Split Inteins

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haojiang Luan ◽  
Alexander Kuzin ◽  
Ward F. Odenwald ◽  
Benjamin H. White
Keyword(s):  
Neural Circuits ◽  
Genetic Model ◽  
Model Organisms ◽  
Second Step ◽  
Developmental Origins ◽  
Combinatorial Method ◽  
Brain Circuits ◽  
Alternative Techniques ◽  
The Brain

Summary:Genetic methods for targeting small numbers of neurons of a specific type are critical for mapping the brain circuits underlying behavior. Existing methods can provide exquisite targeting precision in favorable cases, but for many cases alternative techniques will be required. Here, we introduce a new step-wise combinatorial method for sequentially refining neuronal targeting: Depending on the restriction achieved at the first step, a second step can be easily implemented to further refine expression. For both steps, the new method relies on two independent intersections. The primary intersection targets neurons based on their developmental origins (i.e. lineage) and terminal identities, while the second intersection limits the number of lineages represented in the primary intersection by selecting lineages with overlapping activity of two distinct enhancers during neurogenesis. Our method relies critically on two libraries of 134 transgenic fly lines that express fragments of a split Cre recombinase under the control of distinct neuroblast enhancers. The split Cre fragments are fused to non-interacting pairs of split inteins, which ensure reconstitution of full-length and active Cre when all fragments are expressed in the same cell. Our split Cre system, together with its open source libraries, represent off-the-shelf components that should facilitate the targeting and characterization of brain circuits in Drosophila. Our methodology may also prove useful in other genetic model organisms.

Characterization of Ischemic Stroke in CT Images using Image Processing

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. 18
Author(s):  
Amal Alzain ◽  
Suhaib Alameen ◽  
Rani Elmaki ◽  
Mohamed E. M. Gar-Elnabi
Keyword(s):  
Ischemic Stroke ◽  
White Matter ◽  
Classification Accuracy ◽  
Ct Images ◽  
Gray Level ◽  
Level Variation ◽  
Interactive Data ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Brain Tissues

This study concern to characterize the brain tissues to ischemic stroke, gray matter, white matter and CSF using texture analysisto extract classification features from CT images. The First Order Statistic techniques included sevenfeatures. To find the gray level variation in CT images it complements the FOS features extracted from CT images withgray level in pixels and estimate the variation of thesubpatterns. analyzing the image with Interactive Data Language IDL software to measure the grey level of images. The results show that the Gray Level variation and   features give classification accuracy of ischemic stroke 97.6%, gray matter95.2%, white matter 97.3% and the CSF classification accuracy 98.0%. The overall classification accuracy of brain tissues 97.0%.These relationships are stored in a Texture Dictionary that can be later used to automatically annotate new CT images with the appropriate brain tissues names.

Neurochemistry of L-Glutamate Transport in the CNS: A Review of Thirty Years of Progress

2001 ◽  
Vol 66 (9) ◽  
pp. 1315-1340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladimir J. Balcar ◽  
Akiko Takamoto ◽  
Yukio Yoneda
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Biology ◽  
Glutamate Transport ◽  
Mammalian Brain ◽  
Activity Data ◽  
System A ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
Disease Analysis

The review highlights the landmark studies leading from the discovery and initial characterization of the Na+-dependent "high affinity" uptake in the mammalian brain to the cloning of individual transporters and the subsequent expansion of the field into the realm of molecular biology. When the data and hypotheses from 1970's are confronted with the recent developments in the field, we can conclude that the suggestions made nearly thirty years ago were essentially correct: the uptake, mediated by an active transport into neurons and glial cells, serves to control the extracellular concentrations of L-glutamate and prevents the neurotoxicity. The modern techniques of molecular biology may have provided additional data on the nature and location of the transporters but the classical neurochemical approach, using structural analogues of glutamate designed as specific inhibitors or substrates for glutamate transport, has been crucial for the investigations of particular roles that glutamate transport might play in health and disease. Analysis of recent structure/activity data presented in this review has yielded a novel insight into the pharmacological characteristics of L-glutamate transport, suggesting existence of additional heterogeneity in the system, beyond that so far discovered by molecular genetics. More compounds that specifically interact with individual glutamate transporters are urgently needed for more detailed investigations of neurochemical characteristics of glutamatergic transport and its integration into the glutamatergic synapses in the central nervous system. A review with 162 references.

Implantable neural interfaces

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Vassanelli
Keyword(s):  
Brain Function ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Ionic Channels ◽  
Patch Clamp Technique ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Optogenetic Stimulation ◽  
Physical Interfaces ◽  
The Brain

Establishing direct communication with the brain through physical interfaces is a fundamental strategy to investigate brain function. Starting with the patch-clamp technique in the seventies, neuroscience has moved from detailed characterization of ionic channels to the analysis of single neurons and, more recently, microcircuits in brain neuronal networks. Development of new biohybrid probes with electrodes for recording and stimulating neurons in the living animal is a natural consequence of this trend. The recent introduction of optogenetic stimulation and advanced high-resolution large-scale electrical recording approaches demonstrates this need. Brain implants for real-time neurophysiology are also opening new avenues for neuroprosthetics to restore brain function after injury or in neurological disorders. This chapter provides an overview on existing and emergent neurophysiology technologies with particular focus on those intended to interface neuronal microcircuits in vivo. Chemical, electrical, and optogenetic-based interfaces are presented, with an analysis of advantages and disadvantages of the different technical approaches.

scholarly journals An architectonic type principle in the development of laminar patterns of cortico-cortical connections

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah F. Beul ◽  
Alexandros Goulas ◽  
Claus C. Hilgetag
Keyword(s):  
Structural Connectivity ◽  
Macaque Monkey ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Adult Brain ◽  
Mammalian Brain ◽  
Cortical Connections ◽  
Cortical Projections ◽  
Structural Connections ◽  
High Degree ◽  
The Brain

AbstractStructural connections between cortical areas form an intricate network with a high degree of specificity. Many aspects of this complex network organization in the adult mammalian cortex are captured by an architectonic type principle, which relates structural connections to the architectonic differentiation of brain regions. In particular, the laminar patterns of projection origins are a prominent feature of structural connections that varies in a graded manner with the relative architectonic differentiation of connected areas in the adult brain. Here we show that the architectonic type principle is already apparent for the laminar origins of cortico-cortical projections in the immature cortex of the macaque monkey. We find that prenatal and neonatal laminar patterns correlate with cortical architectonic differentiation, and that the relation of laminar patterns to architectonic differences between connected areas is not substantially altered by the complete loss of visual input. Moreover, we find that the degree of change in laminar patterns that projections undergo during development varies in proportion to the relative architectonic differentiation of the connected areas. Hence, it appears that initial biases in laminar projection patterns become progressively strengthened by later developmental processes. These findings suggest that early neurogenetic processes during the formation of the brain are sufficient to establish the characteristic laminar projection patterns. This conclusion is in line with previously suggested mechanistic explanations underlying the emergence of the architectonic type principle and provides further constraints for exploring the fundamental factors that shape structural connectivity in the mammalian brain.

scholarly journals Modeling temperature- and Cav3 subtype-dependent alterations in T-type calcium channel mediated burst firing

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando R. Fernandez ◽  
Mircea C. Iftinca ◽  
Gerald W. Zamponi ◽  
Ray W. Turner
Keyword(s):  
Calcium Channel ◽  
Neuronal Excitability ◽  
Neuronal Firing ◽  
Mammalian Brain ◽  
Peripheral Tissues ◽  
Window Current ◽  
Modeling Data ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Firing Neuron ◽  
Cav3 Channel

AbstractT-type calcium channels are important regulators of neuronal excitability. The mammalian brain expresses three T-type channel isoforms (Cav3.1, Cav3.2 and Cav3.3) with distinct biophysical properties that are critically regulated by temperature. Here, we test the effects of how temperature affects spike output in a reduced firing neuron model expressing specific Cav3 channel isoforms. The modeling data revealed only a minimal effect on baseline spontaneous firing near rest, but a dramatic increase in rebound burst discharge frequency for Cav3.1 compared to Cav3.2 or Cav3.3 due to differences in window current or activation/recovery time constants. The reduced response by Cav3.2 could optimize its activity where it is expressed in peripheral tissues more subject to temperature variations than Cav3.1 or Cav3.3 channels expressed prominently in the brain. These tests thus reveal that aspects of neuronal firing behavior are critically dependent on both temperature and T-type calcium channel subtype.

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