Neural Responses to Injury: Prevention, Protection, and Repair. Neurochemical Protection of the Brain, Neural Plasticity and Repair

1998 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas G. Bazan
Keyword(s):  
Injury Prevention ◽  
Neural Plasticity ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
The Brain

scholarly journals Regeneration, Plasticity, and Induced Molecular Programs in Adult Zebrafish Brain

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehmet Ilyas Cosacak ◽  
Christos Papadimitriou ◽  
Caghan Kizil
Keyword(s):  
Neural Plasticity ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Regenerative Capacity ◽  
Zebrafish Brain ◽  
Aquatic Vertebrates ◽  
Neural Stem Progenitor Cells ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Regenerative Therapies ◽  
The Brain

Regenerative capacity of the brain is a variable trait within animals. Aquatic vertebrates such as zebrafish have widespread ability to renew their brains upon damage, while mammals have—if not none—very limited overall regenerative competence. Underlying cause of such a disparity is not fully evident; however, one of the reasons could be activation of peculiar molecular programs, which might have specific roles after injury or damage, by the organisms that regenerate. If this hypothesis is correct, then there must be genes and pathways that (a) are expressed only after injury or damage in tissues, (b) are biologically and functionally relevant to restoration of neural tissue, and (c) are not detected in regenerating organisms. Presence of such programs might circumvent the initial detrimental effects of the damage and subsequently set up the stage for tissue redevelopment to take place by modulating the plasticity of the neural stem/progenitor cells. Additionally, if transferable, those “molecular mechanisms of regeneration” could open up new avenues for regenerative therapies of humans in clinical settings. This review focuses on the recent studies addressing injury/damage-induced molecular programs in zebrafish brain, underscoring the possibility of the presence of genes that could be used as biomarkers of neural plasticity and regeneration.

Converging Evidence That Neural Plasticity Underlies Transcranial Direct-Current Stimulation

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 146-157
Author(s):  
Chong Zhao ◽  
Geoffrey F. Woodman
Keyword(s):  
Visual Search ◽  
Direct Current ◽  
Neural Plasticity ◽  
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Visual Stream ◽  
Direct Current Stimulation ◽  
The Brain

It is not definitely known how direct-current stimulation causes its long-lasting effects. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the long time course of transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) is because of the electrical field increasing the plasticity of the brain tissue. If this is the case, then we should see tDCS effects when humans need to encode information into long-term memory, but not at other times. We tested this hypothesis by delivering tDCS to the ventral visual stream of human participants during different tasks (i.e., recognition memory vs. visual search) and at different times during a memory task. We found that tDCS improved memory encoding, and the neural correlates thereof, but not retrieval. We also found that tDCS did not change the efficiency of information processing during visual search for a certain target object, a task that does not require the formation of new connections in the brain but instead relies on attention and object recognition mechanisms. Thus, our findings support the hypothesis that direct-current stimulation modulates brain activity by changing the underlying plasticity of the tissue.

scholarly journals THE VISUAL SYSTEM: A "CHICKEN AND EGG" PROBLEM SOLVED

2009 ◽  
Vol 05 (01) ◽  
pp. 115-121
Author(s):  
ANDREW R. PARKER ◽  
H. JOHN CAULFIELD
Keyword(s):  
Visual System ◽  
Neural Plasticity ◽  
Neural Circuit ◽  
Process Data ◽  
System A ◽  
New Information ◽  
The Brain

"What comes first: the chicken or the egg?" Eyes and vision were a great concern for Darwin. Recently, religious fundamentalists have started to attack evolution on the grounds that this is a chicken and egg problem. How could eyes improve without the brain module to use the new information that eye provides? But how could the brain evolve a neural circuit to process data not available to it until a new eye capability emerges? We argue that neural plasticity in the brain allows it to make use of essentially any useful information the eye can produce. And it does so easily within the animal's lifetime. Richard Gregory suggested something like this 40 years ago. Our work resolves a problem with his otherwise-insightful work.

scholarly journals The aging mind: neuroplasticity in response to cognitive training

2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-119 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Neural Plasticity ◽  
Cognitive Effort ◽  
Aging Brain ◽  
Cognitive Domains ◽  
Training Techniques ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Strategy Change ◽  
The Brain

Is it possible to enhance neural and cognitive function with cognitive training techniques? Can we delay age-related decline in cognitive function with interventions and stave off Alzheimer's disease? Does an aged brain really have the capacity to change in response to stimulation? In the present paper, we consider the neuroplasticity of the aging brain, that is, the brain's ability to increase capacity in response to sustained experience. We argue that, although there is some neural deterioration that occurs with age, the brain has the capacity to increase neural activity and develop neural scaffolding to regulate cognitive function. We suggest that increase in neural volume in response to cognitive training or experience is a clear indicator of change, but that changes in activation in response to cognitive training may be evidence of strategy change rather than indicative of neural plasticity. We note that the effect of cognitive training is surprisingly durable over time, but that the evidence that training effects transfer to other cognitive domains is relatively limited. We review evidence which suggests that engagement in an environment that requires sustained cognitive effort may facilitate cognitive function.

scholarly journals The Cross-Modal Effects of Sensory Deprivation on Spatial and Temporal Processes in Vision and Audition: A Systematic Review on Behavioral and Neuroimaging Research since 2000

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Bell ◽  
Lisa Wagels ◽  
Christiane Neuschaefer-Rube ◽  
Janina Fels ◽  
Raquel E. Gur ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Temporal Processing ◽  
Neural Plasticity ◽  
Sensory Deprivation ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Behavioral Performance ◽  
Brain Organization ◽  
Processing Resources ◽  
The Cross ◽  
The Brain

One of the most significant effects of neural plasticity manifests in the case of sensory deprivation when cortical areas that were originally specialized for the functions of the deprived sense take over the processing of another modality. Vision and audition represent two important senses needed to navigate through space and time. Therefore, the current systematic review discusses the cross-modal behavioral and neural consequences of deafness and blindness by focusing on spatial and temporal processing abilities, respectively. In addition, movement processing is evaluated as compiling both spatial and temporal information. We examine whether the sense that is not primarily affected changes in its own properties or in the properties of the deprived modality (i.e., temporal processing as the main specialization of audition and spatial processing as the main specialization of vision). References to the metamodal organization, supramodal functioning, and the revised neural recycling theory are made to address global brain organization and plasticity principles. Generally, according to the reviewed studies, behavioral performance is enhanced in those aspects for which both the deprived and the overtaking senses provide adequate processing resources. Furthermore, the behavioral enhancements observed in the overtaking sense (i.e., vision in the case of deafness and audition in the case of blindness) are clearly limited by the processing resources of the overtaking modality. Thus, the brain regions that were previously recruited during the behavioral performance of the deprived sense now support a similar behavioral performance for the overtaking sense. This finding suggests a more input-unspecific and processing principle-based organization of the brain. Finally, we highlight the importance of controlling for and stating factors that might impact neural plasticity and the need for further research into visual temporal processing in deaf subjects.

scholarly journals Reward-Related Suppression of Neural Activity in Macaque Visual Area V4

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (9) ◽  
pp. 4871-4881 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharine A Shapcott ◽  
Joscha T Schmiedt ◽  
Kleopatra Kouroupaki ◽  
Ricardo Kienitz ◽  
Andreea Lazar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neural Activity ◽  
Correct Choice ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Visual Area ◽  
Perceptual Judgment ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Area V4 ◽  
Differential Reward ◽  
Visual Area V4 ◽  
The Brain

Abstract In order for organisms to survive, they need to detect rewarding stimuli, for example, food or a mate, in a complex environment with many competing stimuli. These rewarding stimuli should be detected even if they are nonsalient or irrelevant to the current goal. The value-driven theory of attentional selection proposes that this detection takes place through reward-associated stimuli automatically engaging attentional mechanisms. But how this is achieved in the brain is not very well understood. Here, we investigate the effect of differential reward on the multiunit activity in visual area V4 of monkeys performing a perceptual judgment task. Surprisingly, instead of finding reward-related increases in neural responses to the perceptual target, we observed a large suppression at the onset of the reward indicating cues. Therefore, while previous research showed that reward increases neural activity, here we report a decrease. More suppression was caused by cues associated with higher reward than with lower reward, although neither cue was informative about the perceptually correct choice. This finding of reward-associated neural suppression further highlights normalization as a general cortical mechanism and is consistent with predictions of the value-driven attention theory.

scholarly journals The neurogenomic transition from territory establishment to parenting in a territorial female songbird

BMC Genomics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra B. Bentz ◽  
Douglas B. Rusch ◽  
Aaron Buechlein ◽  
Kimberly A. Rosvall
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
Neural Plasticity ◽  
Behavioral Plasticity ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Regulatory Pathways ◽  
Expression Of Genes ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Glucocorticoid Signaling ◽  
Seasonally Breeding ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Background The brain plays a critical role in upstream regulation of processes central to mating effort, parental effort, and self-maintenance. For seasonally breeding animals, the brain is likely mediating trade-offs among these processes within a short breeding season, yet research thus far has only explored neurogenomic changes from non-breeding to breeding states or select pathways (e.g., steroids) in male and/or lab-reared animals. Here, we use RNA-seq to explore neural plasticity in three behaviorally relevant neural tissues (ventromedial telencephalon [VmT], hypothalamus [HYPO], and hindbrain [HB]), comparing free-living female tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) as they shift from territory establishment to incubation. We additionally highlight changes in aggression-related genes to explore the potential for a neurogenomic shift in the mechanisms regulating aggression, a critical behavior both in establishing and maintaining a territory and in defense of offspring. Results HB had few differentially expressed genes, but VmT and HYPO had hundreds. In particular, VmT had higher expression of genes related to neuroplasticity and processes beneficial for competition during territory establishment, but down-regulated immune processes. HYPO showed signs of high neuroplasticity during incubation, and a decreased potential for glucocorticoid signaling. Expression of aggression-related genes also shifted from steroidal to non-steroidal pathways across the breeding season. Conclusions These patterns suggest trade-offs between enhanced activity and immunity in the VmT and between stress responsiveness and parental care in the HYPO, along with a potential shift in the mechanisms regulating aggression. Collectively, these data highlight important gene regulatory pathways that may underlie behavioral plasticity in females.

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