basal ganglionic loops

Early in vertebrate evolution, a single homeobox (Hox) cluster in basal chordates was quadrupled to generate the Hox gene clusters present in extant vertebrates. Here we ask how this expanded gene pool may have influenced the evolution of the visual system. We suggest that a single neurosensory cell type split into ciliated sensory cells (photoreceptors, which transduce light) and retinal ganglion cells (RGC, which project to the brain). In vertebrates, development of photoreceptors is regulated by the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor Neurod1 whereas RGC development depends on Atoh7 and related bHLH genes...

A 47-year-old right-handed man was admitted to our hospital for rehabilitation after right basal ganglion hematoma. On day 57, he noticed a supernumerary motor phantom limb (SPL) involving his right arm, originating at the level of the elbow. The most notable finding of his SPL was the motor characteristic. When the subject had the intention to move the upper paralyzed limb simultaneously with the trainer's facilitating action, he said "there is another arm." The intention to move the paralyzed arm alone or passive movement of the paralyzed arm did not induce the SPL...

The cornea is the most sensitive structure in the human body. Corneal nerves adapt to maintain transparency and contribute to corneal health by mediating tear secretion and protective reflexes and provide trophic support to epithelial and stromal cells. The nerves destined for the cornea travel from the trigeminal ganglion in a complex and coordinated manner to terminate between and within corneal epithelial cells with which they are intricately integrated in a relationship of mutual support involving neurotrophins and neuromediators...

Language is a complex cognitive task that is essential in our daily life. For decades, researchers have tried to understand the different role of cortical and subcortical areas in cerebral language representations and language processing. Language-related cortical zones are richly interconnected with other cortical regions (particularly via myelinated fibre tracts), but they also participate in subcortical feedback loops within the basal ganglia (caudate nucleus and putamen) and thalamus. The most relevant thalamic functions are the control and adaptation of cortico-cortical connectivity and bandwidth for information exchange...

Neuroimaging studies suggest the abnormal structure and function of basal ganglion may contribute to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. However, little is investigated about the both aberrant functional and causal connectivity of striatum in first-episode paranoid schizophrenia (FEPS). Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to characterize the functional connectivity (FC) and casual connectivity within the corticostriatal circuit in 31 patients with FEPS and 33 healthy controls. Degree centrality (DC) was used to explore the regions influenced in schizophrenia at the whole-brain level...

Multiple system atrophy (MSA) and Idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD) show overlapping clinical manifestations with different treatment and prognosis. However, the shared and distinct underlying neural substrates are not yet understood, which needs to be explored between MSA and IPD. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected from 29 MSA patients, 17 IPD patients and 25 healthy controls (HC) and the Amplitude of Low-Frequency Fluctuations (ALFF) was compared. Lower ALFF in bilateral basal ganglion, bilateral ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and right amygdala, as well as higher ALFF in parieto-temporo-occipital cortex and right cerebellum was shared between both patient groups to compare with HC...

The motor cortico-basal ganglion loop is critical for motor planning, execution, and learning. Balanced excitation and inhibition in this loop is crucial for proper motor output. Excitatory neurons have been thought to be the only source of motor cortical input to the striatum. Here, we identify long-range projecting GABAergic neurons in the primary (M1) and secondary (M2) motor cortex that target the dorsal striatum. This population of projecting GABAergic neurons comprises both somatostatin-positive (SOM+ ) and parvalbumin-positive (PV+ ) neurons that target direct and indirect pathway striatal output neurons as well as cholinergic interneurons differentially...

Ototoxic drugs can be used to produce a loss of cochlear hair cells to create animal models of deafness. However, to the best of our knowledge, there is no report on the establishment of a rat deafness model through the combined application of aminoglycosides and loop diuretics. The aim of this study was to use single or combined administration of furosemide and kanamycin sulfate to establish rat models of deafness. The rats received intravenous injections of different doses of furosemide and/or intramuscular injections of kanamycin sulfate...

The Mas-related G protein-coupled receptor X1 (MrgprX1) is a human seven transmembrane-domain protein with a putative role in nociception and pruritus. This receptor is expressed in dorsal root ganglion neurons and is activated by a variety of endogenous peptides, including bovine adrenal medulla peptide (BAM) and γ2-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (γ2-MSH). In the present work, we study how naturally occurring missense mutations alter the activity of MrgprX1. To characterize selected receptor variants, we initially used the endogenous peptide ligand BAM8-22...

Little is known about genetic mechanisms that regulate the ratio of cortical excitatory and inhibitory neurons. We show that NPAS1 and NPAS3 transcription factors (TFs) are expressed in progenitor domains of the mouse basal ganglia (subpallium, MGE, and CGE). NPAS1(-/-) mutants had increased proliferation, ERK signaling, and expression of Arx in the MGE and CGE. NPAS1(-/-) mutants also had increased neocortical inhibition (sIPSC and mIPSC) and generated an excess of somatostatin(+) (SST) (MGE-derived) and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide(+) (VIP) (CGE-derived) neocortical interneurons, but had a normal density of parvalbumin(+) (PV) (MGE-derived) interneurons...

The Acanthopteroctetidae are one of the first-originated family-group lineages within "tongue moths" (Lepidoptera-Glossata). The purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive account (based on whole mount preparations, serial sections, and Scanning electron microscopy) of the cephalic structure of an adult exemplar of the family, to supplement the sparse available information. Notable plesiomorphies include the retention of frontal retractors of the narrow labrum, a high supraocular index linked to strong development of cranio-mandibular ad- and abductors, and perhaps the unusually short but still coilable (just ca...

Acute stress evokes the fight-or-flight reflex, which via release of the catecholamine hormones affects the function of every major organ. Although the reflex is transient, it has lasting consequences that produce an exaggerated response when stress is reexperienced. How this change is encoded is not known. We investigated whether the reflex affects the adrenal component of the sympathetic nervous system, a major branch of the stress response. Mice were briefly exposed to the cold-water forced swim test (FST) which evoked an increase in circulating catecholamines...

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: To evaluate the ability of the Ad28.gfap.atoh1 to promote hair cell regeneration and hearing recovery in cochlea injured with kanamycin and furosemide. STUDY DESIGN: In vivo model of hair cell ablation and subsequent treatment with Atoh1. METHODS: The hair cells of C57BL/6 mice were ablated with systemic administration of kanamycin and furosemide. The left ears were treated with Ad28.gfap.atoh1. The right ears were not treated...

Unlike mammals, adult zebrafish are able to regenerate multiple tissues including those of the CNS. In the zebrafish retina, injury stimulates Müller glia dedifferentiation into a multipotent retinal progenitor that is capable of regenerating all lost cell types. This dedifferentiation is driven by the reactivation of gene expression programs that share many characteristics with those that operate during early development. Although the mechanisms underlying the reactivation of these programs remain unknown, it is likely that changes in DNA methylation play a significant role...

The basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor NeuroD1 is expressed in embryonic and adult mouse olfactory epithelium (OE), as well as during epithelial regeneration, suggesting that it plays an important role in olfactory neurogenesis. We characterized NEUROD1-expressing progenitors, determined their progeny in the adult OE, and identified a subtle phenotype in ΔNeuroD1-knockout mice. All olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) derive from a NeuroD1-expressing progenitor as shown by recombination-mediated lineage tracing, as do other sensory receptors of the nose, including vomeronasal, nasal septal, and Grunenberg ganglion neurons...

The phylogenetic position of bryozoans has been disputed for decades, and molecular phylogenetic analyzes have not unequivocally clarified their position within the Bilateria. As probably the most basal bryozoans, Phylactolaemata is the most promising taxon for large-scale phylogenetic comparisons. These comparisons require extending the morphological and developmental data by investigating different phylactolaemate species to identify basal characters and resolve in-group phylogeny. Accordingly, we analyzed the bud development and the organogenesis of the freshwater bryozoan Cristatella mucedo, with special focus on the formation of the digestive tract and differentiation of the coelomic compartments...

Developing sympathetic neurons depend on NGF for survival. When sympathetic neurons are deprived of NGF in vitro, a well documented series of events, including c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway activation, release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria, and caspase activation, culminates in the death of the neuron by apoptosis within 24-48 h. This process requires de novo gene expression, suggesting that increased expression of specific genes activates the cell death program. Using rat gene microarrays, we found that NGF withdrawal induces the expression of many genes, including mkp1, which encodes a MAPK phosphatase that can dephosphorylate JNKs...

Therapies for the protection and regeneration of auditory hair cells are of great interest given the significant monetary and lifestyle impact of hearing loss. The past decade has seen tremendous advances in the use of adenoviral vectors to achieve these aims. Preliminary data demonstrated the functional capacity of this technique as adenoviral-induced expression of neurotrophic and growth factors protected hair cells and spiral ganglion neurons from ototoxic insults. Subsequent efforts confirmed the feasibility of adenoviral transfection of cells in the auditory neuroepithelium via cochleostomy into the scala media...

Here we define the expression of approximately 100 transcription factors (TFs) in progenitors and neurons of the developing mouse medial and caudal ganglionic eminences, anlage of the basal ganglia and pallial interneurons. We have begun to elucidate the transcriptional hierarchy of these genes with respect to the Dlx homeodomain genes, which are essential for differentiation of most gamma-aminobutyric acidergic projection neurons of the basal ganglia. This analysis identified Dlx-dependent and Dlx-independent pathways...

Neurotrophins are critical for the survival of neurons during development and insufficient access to neurotrophins later in life may contribute to the loss of neurons in neurodegenerative disease, spinal cord injury, and stroke. The prolyl hydroxylase inhibitors ethyl 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHB) and dimethyloxalylglycine (DMOG) were shown to inhibit cell death in a model of neurotrophin deprivation that involves depriving sympathetic neurons of nerve growth factor (NGF). Here we show that treatment with DMOG or DHB reverses the decline in 2-deoxyglucose uptake caused by NGF withdrawal and suppresses the NGF deprivation-induced accumulation of reactive oxygen species...