The highly seasonal anadromous Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) was used to investigate the possible involvement of altered gene expression of brain neuropeptides in seasonal appetite regulation. Pro-opiomelanocortin (POMCA1, POMCA2), Cocaine and amphetamine regulated transcript (CART), Agouti related Peptide (AgRP), Neuropeptide Y (NPY) and Melanocortin Receptor 4 (MC4-R) genes were examined....

Segmentation of the neural tube has been clearly shown in the forebrain and caudal hindbrain but has never been demonstrated within the midbrain/hindbrain domain. Since the homeobox-containing gene Otx2 has a caudal limit of expression in this region, we examined, mainly in chick embryos, the possibility that this limit could represent an interneuromeric boundary separating either two cerebella...

Expression of the immediate-early gene c-fos, a marker of neuronal activation was employed in adult anesthetized non-decerebrate cats, in order to localize the brainstem neuronal populations functionally related to sniff-like (gasp-like) aspiration reflex (AR). Tissues were immunoprocessed using an antibody raised against amino acids of Fos and the avidin-biotin peroxidase complex method. The l...

BACKGROUND Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) includes transverse myelitis, optic neuritis and brain lesions. Recent studies have indicated that the brainstem is an important site of attack in NMO. Longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis (LETM) is an important component of the clinical diagnosis of NMO. The frequency of brainstem and LETM lesions, changes over time of LETM and the clinical consequ...

In vertebrates, the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) decapeptide is secreted from hypothalamic nerve terminals to regulate reproduction via control of synthesis and release of pituitary gonadotropins. Only one GnRH peptide has been found in mammals, with one exception, although numerous other vertebrate species express more than one of the eight known decapeptide forms as shown by immunocy...

E-cadherin is transiently expressed in local regions of the embryonic mouse brain, which include several patchy areas on the mesencephalon and diencephalon and their roof plate and part of cerebellar rudiments. In the present study, we compared this E-cadherin expression with that of Wnt-1, which occurs in specific zones in the embryonic brain, and found certain spatiotemporal relations between...

UNLABELLED Alterations of the serotonergic system due to ecstasy consumption have been extensively documented in recent literature. However, reversibility of these neurotoxic effects still remains unclear. To address this question, PET was performed using the serotonin transporter (SERT) ligand (11)C-(+)-McN5652 in a total of 117 subjects subdivided into 4 groups: actual ecstasy users (n = 30),...

Inflammation in the brain has been increasingly associated with the development of a number of neurological diseases. The hallmark of neuroinflammation is the activation of microglia, the resident brain immune cells. Injection of bacterial endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS) into the hippocampus, cortex, or substantia nigra of adult rats produced neurodegeneration only in the substantia nigra. A...

INTRODUCTION Neuronal migration is a fundamental process in the development of the central nervous system because neurons eventually dwell in regions distinct from their origin. From ventricular zones, neurons and/or neuronal progenitors navigate along diverse courses, radially and tangentially, to their final destination and integrate into specific brain circuits (Corbin et al., 2001; Hatten, ...