In both the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS), axonal injury induces changes in neuronal gene expression. In the PNS, a relatively well-characterized alteration in transcriptional activation is known to promote axonal regeneration. This transcriptional cascade includes the neurotrophin Bdnf and the transcription factor Sox11. Although both molecules act to fac...

Cortical inhibitory interneurons (INs) are subdivided into a variety of morphologically and functionally specialized cell types. How the respective specific properties translate into mechanisms that regulate sensory-evoked responses of pyramidal neurons (PNs) remains unknown. Here, we investigated how INs located in cortical layer 1 (L1) of rat barrel cortex affect whisker-evoked responses of L...

The traditional role of pyridine nucleotides (PNs) – NAD(H) and NADP(H), as the key redox couples in the cytoplasm of all living cells is well known. The reversible conversion between oxidized and reduced forms of PNs does not affect the net levels of these molecules. Resynthesis of these metabolites arises due to their participation in signaling reactions. Recent discoveries in animal systems ...

CNS/PNS interfaces constitute cell boundaries, because they delimit territories with different neuronal and glial contents. Despite their potential interest in regenerative medicine, the mechanisms restricting oligodendrocytes and astrocytes to the CNS and Schwann cells to the PNS in mammals are not known. To investigate the involvement of peripheral glia and myelin in the maintenance of the CN...

The hormone leptin, by binding to hypothalamic receptors, suppresses food intake and decreases body adiposity. Leptin receptors are also widely expressed in extra-hypothalamic areas such as hippocampus, amygdala and cerebellum, where leptin modulates synaptic transmission. Here we show that a defective leptin receptor affects the electrophysiological properties of cerebellar Purkinje neurons (P...

Many animals depend on pheromone communication for successful mating. Sex pheromone in insects is usually released by females to attract males. In American cockroaches, the largest glomerulus (B-glomerulus) in the male antennal lobe (first-order olfactory center) processes the major component of sex pheromone. Using intracellular recordings combined with fine neuroanatomical techniques, we prov...

Ineffective myelin debris clearance is a major factor contributing to the poor regenerative ability of the central nervous system. In stark contrast, rapid clearance of myelin debris from the injured peripheral nervous system (PNS) is one of the keys to this system's remarkable regenerative capacity, but the molecular mechanisms driving PNS myelin clearance are incompletely understood. We set o...

Picrotoxin, an antagonist for γ-aminobutyric acid receptor subtype A (GABAA), was used to investigate the role of GABAA receptors in nociceptive and nonnociceptive reflex bladder activities and pudendal inhibition of these activities in cats under α-chloralose anesthesia. Acetic acid (AA; 0.25%) was used to irritate the bladder and induce nociceptive bladder overactivity, while saline was used ...

Keywords Electrodiagnostic assessment Multiple sclerosis Peripheral neuropathy Although demyelination along the axons is the main manifestation of Multiple sclerosis (MS), peripheral nervous system (PNS) could be affected potentially too. In some studies PNS involvement is estimated to be more than 50 percent in MS patients. Accordingly, objective tests to confirm the severity of PNS involvemen...

Petri nets (PNs) are widely used to model discrete event dynamic systems (computer systems, manufacturing systems, communication systems, etc). Continuous Petri nets (in which the markings are real numbers and the transition firings are continuous) were defined more recently; such a PN may model a continuous system or approximate a discrete system. A hybrid Petri net can be obtained if one part...