scholarly journals Activity-DependentNPAS4Expression and the Regulation of Gene Programs Underlying Plasticity in the Central Nervous System

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Fernando Maya-Vetencourt
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Hot Spot ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Adult Brain ◽  
Genetic Manipulations ◽  
System A ◽  
Environmental Stimulation ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Activity Dependent

The capability of the brain to change functionally in response to sensory experience is most active during early stages of development but it decreases later in life when major alterations of neuronal network structures no longer take place in response to experience. This view has been recently challenged by experimental strategies based on the enhancement of environmental stimulation levels, genetic manipulations, and pharmacological treatments, which all have demonstrated that the adult brain retains a degree of plasticity that allows for a rewiring of neuronal circuitries over the entire life course. A hot spot in the field of neuronal plasticity centres on gene programs that underlie plastic phenomena in adulthood. Here, I discuss the role of the recently discovered neuronal-specific and activity-dependent transcription factor NPAS4 as a critical mediator of plasticity in the nervous system. A better understanding of how modifications in the connectivity of neuronal networks occur may shed light on the treatment of pathological conditions such as brain damage or disease in adult life, some of which were once considered untreatable.

scholarly journals IGF-1 Restores Visual Cortex Plasticity in Adult Life by Reducing Local GABA Levels

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Fernando Maya-Vetencourt ◽  
Laura Baroncelli ◽  
Alessandro Viegi ◽  
Ettore Tiraboschi ◽  
Eero Castren ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Neural Plasticity ◽  
Cortical Neurons ◽  
Environmental Enrichment ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Monocular Deprivation ◽  
Adult Brain ◽  
Environmental Stimulation ◽  
The Central Nervous System

The central nervous system architecture is markedly modified by sensory experience during early life, but a decline of plasticity occurs with age. Recent studies have challenged this dogma providing evidence that both pharmacological treatments and paradigms based on the manipulation of environmental stimulation levels can be successfully employed as strategies for enhancing plasticity in the adult nervous system. Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) is a peptide implicated in prenatal and postnatal phases of brain development such as neurogenesis, neuronal differentiation, synaptogenesis, and experience-dependent plasticity. Here, using the visual system as a paradigmatic model, we report that IGF-1 reactivates neural plasticity in the adult brain. Exogenous administration of IGF-1 in the adult visual cortex, indeed, restores the susceptibility of cortical neurons to monocular deprivation and promotes the recovery of normal visual functions in adult amblyopic animals. These effects were accompanied by a marked reduction of intracortical GABA levels. Moreover, we show that a transitory increase of IGF-1 expression is associated to the plasticity reinstatement induced by environmental enrichment (EE) and that blocking IGF-1 action by means of the IGF-1 receptor antagonist JB1 prevents EE effects on plasticity processes.

scholarly journals The Role of Mast Cells in Stroke

Cells ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edoardo Parrella ◽  
Vanessa Porrini ◽  
Marina Benarese ◽  
Marina Pizzi
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Immune Response ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Mast Cells ◽  
Brain Edema ◽  
Hemorrhagic Stroke ◽  
Inflammatory Responses ◽  
Adult Brain ◽  
The Central Nervous System

Mast cells (MCs) are densely granulated perivascular resident cells of hematopoietic origin. Through the release of preformed mediators stored in their granules and newly synthesized molecules, they are able to initiate, modulate, and prolong the immune response upon activation. Their presence in the central nervous system (CNS) has been documented for more than a century. Over the years, MCs have been associated with various neuroinflammatory conditions of CNS, including stroke. They can exacerbate CNS damage in models of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke by amplifying the inflammatory responses and promoting brain–blood barrier disruption, brain edema, extravasation, and hemorrhage. Here, we review the role of these peculiar cells in the pathophysiology of stroke, in both immature and adult brain. Further, we discuss the role of MCs as potential targets for the treatment of stroke and the compounds potentially active as MCs modulators.

Regulatory role of NGFs in neurocognitive functions

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 649-673 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashutosh Kumar ◽  
Vikas Pareek ◽  
Muneeb A. Faiq ◽  
Pavan Kumar ◽  
Khursheed Raza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Adult Brain ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Neurocognitive Dysfunction ◽  
Neurocognitive Functions ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Health And Disease

AbstractNerve growth factors (NGFs), especially the prototype NGF and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), have a diverse array of functions in the central nervous system through their peculiar set of receptors and intricate signaling. They are implicated not only in the development of the nervous system but also in regulation of neurocognitive functions like learning, memory, synaptic transmission, and plasticity. Evidence even suggests their role in continued neurogenesis and experience-dependent neural network remodeling in adult brain. They have also been associated extensively with brain disorders characterized by neurocognitive dysfunction. In the present article, we aimed to make an exhaustive review of literature to get a comprehensive view on the role of NGFs in neurocognitive functions in health and disease. Starting with historical perspective, distribution in adult brain, implied molecular mechanisms, and developmental basis, this article further provides a detailed account of NGFs’ role in specified neurocognitive functions. Furthermore, it discusses plausible NGF-based homeostatic and adaptation mechanisms operating in the pathogenesis of neurocognitive disorders and has presents a survey of such disorders. Finally, it elaborates on current evidence and future possibilities in therapeutic applications of NGFs with an emphasis on recent research updates in drug delivery mechanisms. Conclusive remarks of the article make a strong case for plausible role of NGFs in comprehensive regulation of the neurocognitive functions and pathogenesis of related disorders and advocate that future research should be directed to explore use of NGF-based mechanisms in the prevention of implicated diseases as well as to target these molecules pharmacologically.

Crosstalk between Gut Microbiota and Central Nervous System: A Focus on Alzheimer's Disease

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (13) ◽  
pp. 1179-1190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vilma M. Junges ◽  
Vera E. Closs ◽  
Guilherme M. Nogueira ◽  
Maria G.V. Gottlieb
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
System A ◽  
Bidirectional Communication ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
The Brain

The role of diet and gut microbiota in the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's, has recently come under intense investigation. Studies suggest that human gut microbiota may contribute to the modulation of several neurochemical and neurometabolic pathways, through complex systems that interact and interconnect with the central nervous system. The brain and intestine form a bidirectional communication axis, or vice versa, they form an axis through bi-directional communication between endocrine and complex immune systems, involving neurotransmitters and hormones. Above all, studies suggest that dysbiotic and poorly diversified microbiota may interfere with the synthesis and secretion of neurotrophic factors, such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor, gammaaminobutyric acid and N-methyl D-Aspartate receptors, widely associated with cognitive decline and dementia. In this context, the present article provides a review of the literature on the role of the gutbrain axis in Alzheimer's disease.

scholarly journals Myelin in the Central Nervous System: Structure, Function, and Pathology

2019 ◽  
Vol 99 (3) ◽  
pp. 1381-1431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Stadelmann ◽  
Sebastian Timmler ◽  
Alonso Barrantes-Freer ◽  
Mikael Simons
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Nerve Conduction ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis ◽  
System Structure ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
Activity Dependent

Oligodendrocytes generate multiple layers of myelin membrane around axons of the central nervous system to enable fast and efficient nerve conduction. Until recently, saltatory nerve conduction was considered the only purpose of myelin, but it is now clear that myelin has more functions. In fact, myelinating oligodendrocytes are embedded in a vast network of interconnected glial and neuronal cells, and increasing evidence supports an active role of oligodendrocytes within this assembly, for example, by providing metabolic support to neurons, by regulating ion and water homeostasis, and by adapting to activity-dependent neuronal signals. The molecular complexity governing these interactions requires an in-depth molecular understanding of how oligodendrocytes and axons interact and how they generate, maintain, and remodel their myelin sheaths. This review deals with the biology of myelin, the expanded relationship of myelin with its underlying axons and the neighboring cells, and its disturbances in various diseases such as multiple sclerosis, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders. Furthermore, we will highlight how specific interactions between astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and microglia contribute to demyelination in hereditary white matter pathologies.

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