Search

Neural functioning and plasticity can be studied on different levels of organization and complexity ranging from the molecular and synaptic level to neural circuitry of whole brain networks. Across neuroscience different methods are being applied to better understand the role of various neurotransmitter systems in the evolution of perception and cognition. GABA is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the adult mammalian brain and, depending on the brain region, up to 25% of the total number of cortical neurons are GABAergic interneurons. At the one end of the spectrum, GABAergic neurons have been accurately described with regard to cell morphological, molecular, and electrophysiological properties; at the other end researchers try to link GABA concentrations in specific brain regions to human behavior using magnetic resonance spectroscopy. One of the main challenges of modern neuroscience currently is to integrate knowledge from highly specialized subfields at distinct biological scales into a coherent picture that bridges the gap between molecules and behavior. In the current review, recent findings from different fields of GABA research are summarized delineating a potential strategy to develop a more holistic picture of the function and role of GABA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To improve the outcome of fetuses with gastrochisis several studies evaluated prenatal predictors. But there are different guidelines established and therefore the prenatal care is not standardized. With our study we wanted to evaluate the outcome of fetuses with gastroschisis after modification of prenatal management strategies at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the University Hospital Münster.Methods: In this explorative retrospective study of 39 fetuses with gastroschisis, we compare the clinical outcome between two management groups. In the first group (group 1, n = 14) prenatal indication for delivery was confirmed by a subjective evaluation of the small bowel diameter and the wall thickness without established cut-off values for these parameters. In the second group (group 2, n = 25) certain limits for the small bowel diameter (25 mm) and the wall thickness (2.5 mm) were used for fetal surveillance.Results: Noticeable differences between the two groups regarding birth weight, weight centile, arterial pH, small bowel diameter, wall thickness, adverse bowel condition and re-operations could not be observed. In group 2, delivery was earlier (p = 0.011), and a lower rate of prenatal complications was observed (p = 0.016).Conclusion: To avoid adverse prenatal complications we recommend the observation of fetuses with gastroschisis by sonographic monitoring of the small bowel diameter and the wall thickness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the Barmer study which aims to examine the impact of standard injection-site warming on prandial insulin dose and frequency of hypoglycemia in obese patients with diabetes mellitus. It mentions that 145 patient were treated with insulin glargine, an analog therapy under the observation parameters includes HbA1c, insulin dose and body weight. Also mentions that by using the injection-site warming device results the decline in the hypoglycemic events.

Copyright of Erwerbs-Obstbau is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

We measured the volume of the supratentorial ventricles in 39 consecutive children with myelomeningocele (MMC) and associated hydrocephalus, using a stereological method based on the Cavalieri the-orem of systematic sampling. We distinguished the following groups: newborns before and after cerebrospinal fluid shunting (14), a somewhat larger group of newborns with an untreated MMC-associated hydrocephalus (25) and a group of shunted children at a mean age of 1.5 years (28). We paid special attention to the shape of the lateral ventricles, looking separately at the anterior and posterior halves. The measurements were compared with a healthy control group (10) and with children with hydrocephalus unrelated to MMC (15). The average volume ratio of the posterior to the anterior half of the lateral ventricles was 1.05±0.39 in nonhydrocephalic children, 1.11±0.55 in untreated hydrocephalic children without MMC, and 2.15±0.65 in MMC-associated hydrocephalus prior to shunting. These ratios did not change significantly after shunting. This confirms our impression that MMC-associated hydrocephalus shows a characteristic shape, with a disproportionate enlargement of the posterior part of the lateral ventricles, in clear contrast to the normal-width frontal horns. This shape is reminiscent of the fetal ventricular shape. It reveals disturbance of brain development in children with MMC, which goes beyond the classic description of the Chiari malformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two somatosensory regions in the pigeon's telencephalon were investigated electrophysiologically with recordings of field potentials as well as single- and multi-unit responses which were evoked by electrical stimulation of all four extremities or by feather movements produced with airpuffs or by hand. The outline of both areas, was studied in detail with the use of grid-like recordings of single or multi-units. One somatosensory area is located rostrally in the hyperstriatum accessorium (HA), rostral to the visual 'Wulst'. A caudal area comprises the medial aspects of two different cell layers: the neostriatum intermedium (NI) and adjacent neostriatum caudale (NC) as well as the overlying hyperstriatum ventrale (HV). The two areas differ considerably in their response characteristics. Field potentials of the NI/NC-HV area were more complex than those of the HA area and their shapes and latencies varied mainly in dependence of the recording site (NI, NC, HV). Multi-unit responses showed strong excitation and short latencies in NI/NC and weak excitation and longer latencies in HV. Both responses and latencies were uniform in the HA area and latencies generally longer than in NI/NC but shorter than in HV. The HA area processes somatosensory information more specifically. Its neurons have relatively small receptive fields which seem to be arranged in a somatotopic order in such a way that rostral parts of the body are represented superficially and caudal parts in deeper layers. In contrast, the NI/NC-HV area was found to be largely multimodal, receiving also auditory and visual information. Neurons in this region have large somatic receptive fields, often including one and sometimes even both sides of the body surface. A somatotopic arrangement could not be recognized. The whole body surface was representated in both areas, but there was a dominance of wing and back receptive fields in the NI/NC-HV area and leg and neck receptive fields in the HA area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are two somatosensory areas in the telencephalon of the pigeon which receive an input from the spinal somatosensory system: one in the rostral Wulst which consists of the three hyperstriatal layers (h. accessorium (HA), h. intercalatus superior (HIS) and h. dorsale (HD)) and one in the caudal telencephalon (neostriatum caudale (NC), neostriatum intermedium (NI) and hyperstriatum ventrale (HV)). Recordings of evoked single unit or multi unit activity and of field potentials before and after lesions of spinal pathways at a high cervical level (C4) were made to determine the contribution of these pathways to the transmission of somatosensory signals to these telencephalic areas. The rostral Wulst area receives somatic signals only through dorsal tracts contralateral to the recording site. Inputs from the wing arise mainly through the dorsal columns (DC) and those from the leg largely through the dorsolateral funiculus (DLF). The spinal projection pathway to the caudal neostriatal area includes the dorsal tracts and parts of the lateral funiculi on both sides. There was no difference in response form between the wing and leg responses. Signals transmitted through the lateral pathways were found to elicit the earliest responses (6-13 ms, electrical stimulation) in the caudal forebrain, while signals travelling through the DC arrive later in the caudal area (about 14 ms for wing stimulation) than in the rostral Wulst area (about 9 ms). The afferent thalamic and intratelencephalic connections of the two somatosensory areas in the telencephalon of the pigeon were investigated with retrograde transport of the neuronal tracers horseradish-peroxidase (HRP) or wheatgerm agglutinated HRP (WGA-HRP), Fast Blue (FB) and Rhodamine-isothiocyanat (RITC). Small tracer-injections were made under electrophysiological control at somatosensory responsive locations. These investigations confirm the projection of the caudal part of the nucleus dorsolateralis posterior (DLPc) to the caudal area and of the nucleus dorsalis intermedius ventralis anterior (DIVA) to the rostral area. In addition, it could be shown that the NI/NC projects to the HV thus confirming the electrophysiological results reported in a companion paper (Funke 1989) that the HV is a secondary area. The integrative function of HV is supported by connections to other sensory and motor telencephalic areas. Combined injections of FB and RITC revealed a topographic projection from the DIVA to the anterior Wulst. Both somatosensory areas are reciprocally interconnected and the HV receives, in addition, intratelencephalic projections from other parts of the neostriatum and hyperstriatum and from forebrain structures associated with motor performances (archistriatum, paleostriatum). Furthermore, it could be demonstrated that neurons of the deeper layers in the Wulst (HD, HIS) project to the superficial layer (HA). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]