Pattern determination and pattern regulation in Paramecium tetraurelia

Development ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-68
Author(s):  
Janina Kaczanowska ◽  
Bożena Dubielecka
Keyword(s):  
Paramecium Tetraurelia ◽  
Cortical Areas ◽  
Pattern Determination ◽  
Pattern Regulation

Pattern regulation was investigated in the progeny of laterally fused cells of Paramecium tetraurelia. The immediate progeny of such fused cells (doublets) reveal two sets of cortical organelles arranged roughly symmetrically. Doublets tend to transform gradually into cells with only one set of organelles (singlets). At least two different and mutually exclusive pathways of doublet-to-singlet transformation are reported. In intermediate stages of regulation the cortical areas bearing different cortical landmarks may be brought into an abnormal neighbourhood. Differentiated cortical bands of cortex, bearing organellar landmarks, are faithfully propagated even if they are improperly and asymmetrically located on the cell. The confrontation of such cortical bands may lead to the transient appearance of additional duplicated organelles. It is suggested that pattern regulation in Paramecium during doublet-to-singlet transformation results from at least three factors: the regression of some part of the cortical areas, the interaction of the juxtaposed parts remaining and the slow regulatory shift of positions of the cortical structures.

scholarly journals Colour pattern regulation after surgery on the wing disks of Precis coenia (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)

Development ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 102 (2) ◽  
pp. 377-385
Author(s):  
H.F. Nijhout ◽  
L.W. Grunert
Keyword(s):  
Colour Pattern ◽  
Central Field ◽  
Wing Margin ◽  
Cut Edge ◽  
Wing Disk ◽  
Developmental Disturbances ◽  
Pattern Determination ◽  
Precis Coenia ◽  
Pattern Regulation

Partial ablations were done in situ on the imaginal disks of the hindwing in larvae of Precis coenia at ages between 2 and 9 days prior to pupation. While there was no regeneration of the wing lamina, the cut edge developed normal marginal scales and a marginal colour pattern if the ablation was done more than 3–5 days prior to pupation. The response of elements of the marginal colour pattern to partial ablation of the wing disk indicates that the wing margin has an important role in colour pattern determination and appears to act as a sink for a pattern-inducing signal. While the elements of the marginal colour pattern regulate to the shape and position of the new wing margin, the eyespots changed their shape and size but not their position upon partial ablation of the wing disk. When a cut was positioned near one of the dorsal eyespots, the outer rings of the eyespot opened up so that its central field became contiguous with the new margin. The behaviour of the dorsal eyespots of the hindwing in response to ablation of the wing disk, as well as to other developmental disturbances, appears to be the reverse of those on the forewing and ventral hindwing. We conclude that the central field of a dorsal eyespot and the wing margin share similar controlling properties with respect to pattern, and that both appear to act as sinks or as the inverse of the sources of pattern-inducing signal found in the eyespots of the forewing.

Anabolic steroids and their effects of on neuronal density in cortical areas and hippocampus of mice

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Damião ◽  
W. C. Rossi-Junior ◽  
F. D. R. Guerra ◽  
P. P. Marques ◽  
D. A. Nogueira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nervous Tissue ◽  
Anabolic Steroids ◽  
Hippocampal Region ◽  
Behavioral Impairment ◽  
Neuronal Density ◽  
Cortical Areas ◽  
Illicit Use ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Serial Samples ◽  
Considerable Damage

Abstract Anabolic substances have been increasingly used by bodybuilders and athletes with the goal of improving performance and aesthetics. However, this practice has caused some concern to physicians and researchers because of unknowledge of consequences that the indiscriminate and illicit use of these substances can cause. Thus, this study analyzed the effects of two commercially available anabolic steroids (AS), Winstrol Depot® (Stanozolol) and Deposteron® (Testosterone Cypionate), in the neuronal density of limbic, motor and sensory regions on the cerebral cortex and in CA1, CA2, CA3 regions of the hippocampus. A total of 60 Swiss mice were used (30 males and 30 females), separated into three groups: control and two experimental groups, which received the AAS. From each brain, homotypic and semi-serial samples were taken in frontal sections from areas established for the study. The results showed that females treated with testosterone cypionate presented a reduction in all regions tested and the ones treated with Stanozolol showed a decrease in some hippocampal areas. Regarding male animals, stanozolol led to a decrease in neuron number in one hippocampal region. These data allow us to conclude that supra-physiological doses of steroids used in this study, can cause considerable damage to nervous tissue with ultrastructural and consequently behavioral impairment. These changes could interfere with the loss of physical yield and performance of athletes and non-athletes and may cause irreparable damage to individuals making irresponsible use of anabolic steroids.

Engaging regularly with fiction influences connectivity in cortical areas for language and mentalizing

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roel M. Willems ◽  
Franziska Hartung
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Brain Areas ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Cortical Areas ◽  
Social Abilities ◽  
Behavioral Evidence ◽  
Amount Of Reading

Behavioral evidence suggests that engaging with fiction is positively correlated with social abilities. The rationale behind this link is that engaging with fictional narratives offers a ‘training modus’ for mentalizing and empathizing. We investigated the influence of the amount of reading that participants report doing in their daily lives, on connections between brain areas while they listened to literary narratives. Participants (N=57) listened to two literary narratives while brain activation was measured with fMRI. We computed time-course correlations between brain regions, and compared the correlation values from listening to narratives to listening to reversed speech. The between-region correlations were then related to the amount of fiction that participants read in their daily lives. Our results show that amount of fiction reading is related to functional connectivity in areas known to be involved in language and mentalizing. This suggests that reading fiction influences social cognition as well as language skills.

The mamillothalamic pathways: my first encounter with the thalamus

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ray Guillery
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Input ◽  
Great Success ◽  
Cortical Lesions ◽  
Head Direction ◽  
Thalamic Nuclei ◽  
Sensory Pathways ◽  
Cortical Areas ◽  
Thalamic Relay ◽  
The Many

My thesis studies had stimulated an interest in the mamillothalamic pathways but also some puzzlement because we knew nothing about the nature of the messages passing along these pathways. Several laboratories were studying the thalamic relay of sensory pathways with great success during my post-doctoral years. Each sensory relay could be understood in terms of the appropriate sensory input, but we had no way of knowing the meaning of the mamillothalamic messages. I introduce these nuclei as an example of the many thalamic nuclei about whose input functions we still know little or nothing. Early clinical studies of mamillary lesions had suggested a role in memory formation, whereas evidence from cortical lesions suggested a role in emotional experiences. Studies of the smallest of the three nuclei forming these pathways then showed it to be concerned with sensing head direction, relevant but not sufficient for defining an animal’s position in space. More recent studies based on studies of cortical activity or cortical damage have provided a plethora of suggestions: as so often, the answers reported depend on the questions asked. That simple conclusion is relevant for all transthalamic pathways. The evidence introduced in Chapter 1, that thalamocortical messages have dual meanings, suggests that we need to rethink our questions. It may prove useful to look at the motor outputs of relevant cortical areas to get clues about some appropriate questions.

scholarly journals Competition and convergence between auditory and cross-modal visual inputs to primary auditory cortical areas

2011 ◽  
Vol 105 (4) ◽  
pp. 1558-1573 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Ting Mao ◽  
Tian-Miao Hua ◽  
Sarah L. Pallas
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Multisensory Processing ◽  
Sensory Deprivation ◽  
Target Space ◽  
Target Cells ◽  
Auditory Input ◽  
Visual Neurons ◽  
Cortical Areas ◽  
Visual Inputs ◽  
Medial Geniculate

Sensory neocortex is capable of considerable plasticity after sensory deprivation or damage to input pathways, especially early in development. Although plasticity can often be restorative, sometimes novel, ectopic inputs invade the affected cortical area. Invading inputs from other sensory modalities may compromise the original function or even take over, imposing a new function and preventing recovery. Using ferrets whose retinal axons were rerouted into auditory thalamus at birth, we were able to examine the effect of varying the degree of ectopic, cross-modal input on reorganization of developing auditory cortex. In particular, we assayed whether the invading visual inputs and the existing auditory inputs competed for or shared postsynaptic targets and whether the convergence of input modalities would induce multisensory processing. We demonstrate that although the cross-modal inputs create new visual neurons in auditory cortex, some auditory processing remains. The degree of damage to auditory input to the medial geniculate nucleus was directly related to the proportion of visual neurons in auditory cortex, suggesting that the visual and residual auditory inputs compete for cortical territory. Visual neurons were not segregated from auditory neurons but shared target space even on individual target cells, substantially increasing the proportion of multisensory neurons. Thus spatial convergence of visual and auditory input modalities may be sufficient to expand multisensory representations. Together these findings argue that early, patterned visual activity does not drive segregation of visual and auditory afferents and suggest that auditory function might be compromised by converging visual inputs. These results indicate possible ways in which multisensory cortical areas may form during development and evolution. They also suggest that rehabilitative strategies designed to promote recovery of function after sensory deprivation or damage need to take into account that sensory cortex may become substantially more multisensory after alteration of its input during development.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document