Hippocampal volume is a key brain structure for learning ability and memory process, and hippocampal atrophy is a recognized biological marker of Alzheimer's disease. However, the genetic bases of hippocampal volume are still unclear although it is a heritable trait. Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) on hippocampal volume have implicated several significantly associated genetic variants i...

Adult neurogenesis, a concept emergent in the late 1990s, is the generation of new neurons in the adult brain. This process occurs thank to cells who have this proliferative feature, named as Neural Stem Cells (NSCs). Neural Stem Cells (NSCs) are primary progenitors who can generate the two neural types (neurons and glia). Classically it was assumed that NSCs are only present in the embryo, but...

Visual cues exert a powerful control over hippocampal place cell activities that encode external spaces. The functional interaction of visual cortical neurons and hippocampal place cells during spatial navigation behavior has yet to be elucidated. Here we show that, like hippocampal place cells, many neurons in the primary visual cortex (V1) of freely moving rats selectively fire at specific lo...

We read with interest “3T MRI Quantification of Hippocampal Volume and Signal in Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Improves Detection of Hippocampal Sclerosis,” in which Coan et al presented convincing evidence that quantitative assessment of hippocampal volume and T2 improves detection of hippocampal sclerosis vs visual inspection. Although we agree with the principal findings of the study, we dis...

PURPOSE To identify the extent of hippocampal sclerosis in temporal lobe epilepsy with fast spin-echo MR and correlate it with histopathologic findings and surgical outcome. METHODS MR images of 30 patients with temporal lobe epilepsy and pathologically proved hippocampal sclerosis and 30 control subjects were obtained using a fast spin-echo technique with 4000/100/4 (repetition time/echo tim...

Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) is associated with hippocampal atrophy and hippocampal signal abnormalities. In our series of familial MTLE (FMTLE), we found a high proportion of hippocampal abnormalities. To quantify signal abnormalities in patients with FMTLE we studied 152 individuals (46 of them asymptomatic) with FMTLE. We used NIH-Image for volumetry and signal quantification in coro...

background exposure to morphine decreases neurogenesis in the hippocampus. recent studies have shown that voluntary running decreases the severity of anxiety behaviors and cognitive deficits, and increased synaptic plasticity in morphine-dependent rats. objectives this study aimed to investigate whether the morphine dependence-induced attenuation of hippocampal neuron number in rats would be re...

objective: the aim of the present study was to investigate the neuroprotective effects of melissa officinalis, a major antioxidant plant, against neuron toxicity in hippocampal primary culture induced by 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (mdma) or ecstasy, one of the most abused drugs, which causes neurotoxicity. materials and methods: 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2 thiazoyl)-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromid...

introduction: considering the antiepileptogenic effects of repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rtms), the effect of rtms applied during amygdala kindling on spontaneous activity of hippocampal ca1 pyramidal neurons was investigated. materials and methods: a tripolar electrode was inserted in basolateral amygdala of male wistar rats. after a recovery period, animals received daily kindli...

objective(s) nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nachrs) regulate epileptiform activity and produce a sustained pro-epileptogenic action within the hippocampal slices. in the present study, we investigated the effect of nachrs on evoked glutamatergic synaptic transmission in area ca3 and ca1 of rat hippocampal slices to identify possible excitatory circuits through which activation of nachrs pro...