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Pain plays an important role in human survival [...]

To counteract oxidative stress and associated brain diseases, antioxidant systems rescue neuronal cells from oxidative stress by neutralizing reactive oxygen species and preserving gene regulation. It is necessary to understand the communication and interactions between brain cells, including neurons, astrocytes and microglia, to understand oxidative stress and antioxidant mechanisms. Here, the role of glia in the protection of neurons against oxidative injury and glia–neuron crosstalk to maintain antioxidant defense mechanisms and brain protection are reviewed. The first part of this review focuses on the role of glia in the morphological and physiological changes required for brain homeostasis under oxidative stress and antioxidant defense mechanisms. The second part focuses on the essential crosstalk between neurons and glia for redox balance in the brain for protection against oxidative stress.

The insular cortex (IC) is known to process pain information. However, analgesic effects of glial inhibition in the IC have not yet been explored. The aim of this study was to investigate pain alleviation effects after neuroglia inhibition in the IC during the early or late phase of pain development. The effects of glial inhibitors in early or late phase inhibition in neuropathic pain were characterized in astrocytes and microglia expressions in the IC of an animal model of neuropathic pain. Changes in withdrawal responses during different stages of inhibition were compared, and morphological changes in glial cells with purinergic receptor expressions were analyzed. Inhibition of glial cells had an analgesic effect that persisted even after drug withdrawal. Both GFAP and CD11b/c expressions were decreased after injection of glial inhibitors. Morphological alterations of astrocytes and microglia were observed with expression changes of purinergic receptors. These findings indicate that inhibition of neuroglia activity in the IC alleviates chronic pain, and that purinergic receptors in glial cells are closely related to chronic pain development.

The brain plays important roles in mental processing and in controlling other bodily organs [...]

Increased oxidative damage in the brain, which increases with age, is the cause of abnormal brain function and various diseases. Ascorbic acid (AA) is known as an endogenous antioxidant that provides neuronal protection against oxidative damage. However, with aging, its extracellular concentrations and uptake decrease in the brain. Few studies have dealt with age-related functional changes in the brain to sustained ascorbate supplementation. This study aimed to investigate the susceptibility of hippocampal neurons to oxidative injury following acute and chronic AA administration. Oxidative stress was induced by kainic acid (KA, 5 µM) for 18 h in hippocampal slice cultures. After KA exposure, less neuronal cell death was observed in the 3 w cultured slice compared to the 9 w cultured slice. In the chronic AA treatment (6 w), the 9 w-daily group showed reduced neuronal cell death and increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) and Nrf2 expressions compared to the 9 w. In addition, the 9 w group showed delayed latencies and reduced signal activity compared to the 3 w, while the 9 w-daily group showed shorter latencies and increased signal activity than the 9 w. These results suggest that the maintenance of the antioxidant system by chronic AA treatment during aging could preserve redox capacity to protect hippocampal neurons from age-related oxidative stress.

Background: Behçet's disease (BD) is a chronic inflammatory systemic disease that affects multiple organs. The causes of BD are still unknown, but it is primarily characterized by autoimmune reaction in the blood vessels. Current research focuses on treatments that can reduce the non-typical inflammatory responses of BD. Nevertheless, studies on improving the inflammatory effect of BD using inflammation mechanisms are still insufficient. Therefore, we conducted the integrated treatments related to inflammation modulation and achieved alleviation of symptoms in BD mice. Methods: To understand the complex etiology of BD and compare its management, the herpes simplex virus (HSV)-induced BD mouse model was used. In order to alleviate the inflammatory response in BD mice, Taraxaci Herba (TH, herbal medicine), R7050-a TNFα inhibitor, and a mixture of TH and R7050 were injected for 2 weeks repetitively. The SCORAD index was examined to evaluate the cutaneous inflammations. In addition, histological changes and inflammatory factors were analyzed. Results: Repetitive injection of TH and/or R7050 reduced the symptoms of BD and significantly decreased IL-6, IL-1β, and TNFα in blood sera. Moreover, this treatment reduced the ulcers and the deterioration of skin. Conclusions: The results of our study showed that the down-regulation of inflammatory factors is related to the control of immune responses in BD models, suggesting that a mixed drug treatment may be more effective in improving the condition of BD.

Neuropathic pain induced by a nerve injury can lead to chronic pain. Recent studies have reported hyperactive neural activities in the nociceptive-related area of the brain as a result of chronic pain. Although cerebral activities associated with hyperalgesia and allodynia in chronic pain models are difficult to represent with functional imaging techniques, advances in manganese (Mn)-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MEMRI) could facilitate the visualization of the activation of pain-specific neural responses in the cerebral cortex. In order to investigate the alleviation of pain nociception by mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) modulation, we observed cerebrocortical excitability changes and compared regional Mn2+ enhancement after mTOR inhibition. At day 7 after nerve injury, drugs were applied into the intracortical area, and drug (Vehicle, Torin1, and XL388) effects were compared within groups using MEMRI. Therein, signal intensities of the insular cortex (IC), primary somatosensory cortex of the hind limb region, motor cortex 1/2, and anterior cingulate cortex regions were significantly reduced after application of mTOR inhibitors (Torin1 and XL388). Furthermore, rostral-caudal analysis of the IC indicated that the rostral region of the IC was more strongly associated with pain perception than the caudal region. Our data suggest that MEMRI can depict pain-related signal changes in the brain and that mTOR inhibition is closely correlated with pain modulation in chronic pain rats.

The brain is vulnerable to excessive oxidative insults because of its abundant lipid content, high energy requirements, and weak antioxidant capacity. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) increase susceptibility to neuronal damage and functional deficits, via oxidative changes in the brain in neurodegenerative diseases. Overabundance and abnormal levels of ROS and/or overload of metals are regulated by cellular defense mechanisms, intracellular signaling, and physiological functions of antioxidants in the brain. Single and/or complex antioxidant compounds targeting oxidative stress, redox metals, and neuronal cell death have been evaluated in multiple preclinical and clinical trials as a complementary therapeutic strategy for combating oxidative stress associated with neurodegenerative diseases. Herein, we present a general analysis and overview of various antioxidants and suggest potential courses of antioxidant treatments for the neuroprotection of the brain from oxidative injury. This review focuses on enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant mechanisms in the brain and examines the relative advantages and methodological concerns when assessing antioxidant compounds for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.

Neuropathic pain induced by a nerve injury could lead to chronic pain. Recent studies have reported hyperactive neural activities in the nociceptive-related area of the brain as a result of chronic pain. Although cerebral activities associated with hyperalgesia and allodynia in the chronic pain model were difficult to represent with functional imaging techniques, advances in manganese (Mn)-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MEMRI) could facilitate the visualization of the activation of pain-specific neural responses in the cerebral cortex. In order to investigate the alleviation of pain nociception by mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) modulation, we observed the cerebrocortical excitability changes and compared the regional Mn 2+ enhancement after mTOR inhibitions. At day 7 after nerve injury, drugs were applied into the intracortical area, and drug (Vehicle, Torin1 and XL388) effects were compared within groups using MEMRI. In the results, signal intensities of the insular cortex (IC), primary somatosensory cortex of the hind limb region (S1HL), motor cortex 1/2 (M1/2), and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) regions were significantly reduced after application of mTOR inhibitors (Torin1 and XL388). Furthermore, the rostral-caudal analysis of the IC indicated that the rostral region of the IC was more associated with pain perception than caudal region. Our data suggest that MEMRI could present the pain-related signal changes in the brain, and mTOR inhibition is closely correlated with pain modulation in chronic pain rats.

Although astrocytes are known to regulate synaptic transmission and affect new memory formation by influencing long-term potentiation and functional synaptic plasticity, their role in pain modulation is poorly understood. Motor cortex stimulation (MCS) has been used to reduce neuropathic pain through the incertothalamic pathway, including the primary motor cortex (M1) and the zona incerta (ZI). However, there has been no in-depth study of these modulatory effects and region-specific changes in neural plasticity. In this study, we investigated the effects of MCS-induced pain modulation as well as the relationship between the ZI neuroplasticity and MCS-induced pain alleviation in neuropathic pain (NP). MCS-induced threshold changes were evaluated after daily MCS. Then, the morphological changes of glial cells were compared by tissue staining. In order to quantify the neuroplasticity, MAP2, PSD95, and synapsin in the ZI and M1 were measured and analyzed with western blot. In behavioral test, repetitive MCS reduced NP in nerve-injured rats. We also observed recovered GFAP expression in the NP with MCS rats. In the NP with sham MCS rats, increased CD68 level was observed. In the NP with MCS group, increased mGluR1 expression was observed. Analysis of synaptogenesis-related molecules in the M1 and ZI revealed that synaptic changes occured in the M1, and increased astrocytes in the ZI were more closely associated with pain alleviation after MCS. Our findings suggest that MCS may modulate the astrocyte activities in the ZI and synaptic changes in the M1. Our results may provide new insight into the important and numerous roles of astrocytes in the formation and function.

Background and objectives Glial scarring and inflammation after spinal cord injury (SCI) interfere with neural regeneration and functional recovery due to the inhibitory microenvironment of the injured spinal cord. Stem cell transplantation can improve functional recovery in experimental models of SCI, but many obstacles to clinical application remain due to concerns regarding the effectiveness and safety of stem cell transplantation for SCI patients. In this study, we investigated the effects of transplantation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) that were genetically modified to express Olig2 in a rat model of SCI. Methods Bone marrow-derived hMSCs were genetically modified to express Olig2 and transplanted one week after the induction of contusive SCI in a rat model. Spinal cords were harvested 7 weeks after transplantation. Results Transplantation of Olig2-expressing hMSCs significantly improved functional recovery in a rat model of contusive SCI model compared to the control hMSC-transplanted group. Transplantation of Olig2-expressing hMSCs also attenuated glial scar formation in spinal cord lesions. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that transplanted Olig2-expressing hMSCs were partially differentiated into Olig1-positive oligodendrocyte-like cells in spinal cords. Furthermore, NF-M-positive axons were more abundant in the Olig2-expressing hMSC-transplanted group than in the control hMSC-transplanted group. Conclusions We suggest that Olig2-expressing hMSCs are a safe and optimal cell source for treating SCI.

The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is a well-known brain area that is associated with pain perception. Previous studies reported that the ACC has a specific role in the emotional processing of pain. Chronic pain is characterized by long-term potentiation that is induced in pain pathways and contributes to hyperalgesia caused by peripheral nerve injury. The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling, which is involved in synaptic protein synthesis, could be a key factor controlling long-term potentiation in neuropathic pain conditions. Until now, there have been no reports that studied the role of mTOR signaling in the ACC involved in neuropathic pain. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the relationship of mTOR signaling in the ACC and neuropathic pain. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to cannula implantation and nerve injury under pentobarbital anesthesia. Microinjection with rapamycin into the ACC was conducted under isoflurane anesthesia on postoperative day (POD) 7. A behavioral test was performed to evaluate mechanical allodynia, and optical imaging was conducted to observe the neuronal responses of the ACC to peripheral stimulation. Inhibition of mTOR by rapamycin reduced mechanical allodynia, down-regulated mTOR signaling in the ACC, and diminished the expressions of synaptic proteins which are involved in excitatory signaling, thereby reducing neuropathic pain-induced synaptic plasticity. These results suggest that inhibiting mTOR activity by rapamycin in the ACC could serve as a new strategy for treating or managing neuropathic pain before it develops into chronic pain.

Recent evidence indicates that motor cortex stimulation (MCS) is a potentially effective treatment for chronic neuropathic pain. However, the neural mechanisms underlying the attenuated hyperalgesia after MCS are not completely understood. In this study, we investigated the neural mechanism of the effects of MCS using an animal model of neuropathic pain. After 10 daily sessions of MCS, repetitive MCS reduced mechanical allodynia and contributed to neuronal changes in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Interestingly, inhibition of protein kinase M zeta (PKMζ), a regulator of synaptic plasticity, in the ACC blocked the effects of repetitive MCS. Histological and molecular studies showed a significantly increased level of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression in the ACC after peripheral neuropathy, and neither MCS treatment nor ZIP administration affected this increase. These results suggest that repetitive MCS can attenuate the mechanical allodynia in neuropathic pain, and that the activation of PKMζ in the ACC may play a role in the modulation of neuropathic pain via MCS.

Neuronal excitotoxicity is the neuronal cell death arising from prolonged exposure to glutamate and the associated excessive influx of ions into the cell. Sodium orthovanadate (Na3VO4,) competitively inhibits the protein tyrosine phosphatases that affect intracellular protein phosphorylation. No study has examined the role of protein tyrosine phosphatases in kainic acid (KA)-induced excitotoxic injury using sodium orthovanadate. Thus, the present study was conducted to determine the neuroprotective effects of sodium orthovanadate on KA-induced neuronal death in organotypic hippocampal slice culture. We also performed an in vivo electrophysiology study in Sprague-Dawley rats to observe the function of surviving cells after sodium orthovanadate treatment in KA-induced excitotoxicity. Rats were anaesthetized with sodium pentobarbital and KA was injected unilaterally in CA3 of the hippocampus by microinjection-cannula. Neuronal cell death, as assessed by propidium iodide uptake, was reduced by 10 and 25 μM sodium orthovanadate treatment (24 and 48 h) compared with the KA-only group. Sodium orthovanadate enhanced survival signals by increasing levels of phospho-Akt and superoxide dismutase. In addition, sodium orthovanadate treatment reduced calcineurin level for neuronal protection, which regulates activation of cellular calcium caused by KA-induced injury. In vivo results showed that sodium orthovanadate treatment elicited resistance to KA-induced behavior seizures and significantly reduced the duration of epileptiform discharges. In addition, sodium orthovanadate treatment (25 mM) significantly prevented the increase in power spectra induced by KA injection. These results suggest that sodium orthovanadate decreases the acute effects of KA, thereby inducing neuroprotective effects with reduced reactive oxygen species and cellular Ca2+. Thus, sodium orthovanadate may protect hippocampal neurons against excitotoxicity, and surviving neurons may function to reduce seizures.

Environmental enrichment (EE) with a complex combination of physical, cognitive and social stimulations enhances synaptic plasticity and behavioral function. However, the mechanism remains to be elucidated in detail. We aimed to investigate dopamine-related synaptic plasticity underlying functional improvement after EE. For this, six-week-old CD-1 mice were randomly allocated to EE or standard conditions for two months. EE significantly enhanced behavioral functions such as rotarod and ladder walking tests. In a [18F]FPCIT positron emission tomography scan, binding values of striatal DAT were significantly decreased approximately 18% in the EE mice relative to the control mice. DAT inhibitor administrated to establish the relationship of the DAT down-regulation to the treatment effects also improved rotarod performances, suggesting that DAT inhibition recapitulated EE-mediated treatment benefits. Next, EE-induced internalization of DAT was confirmed using a surface biotinylation assay. In situ proximity ligation assay and immunoprecipitation demonstrated that EE significantly increased the phosphorylation of striatal DAT as well as the levels of DAT bound with protein kinase C (PKC). In conclusion, we suggest that EE enables phosphorylation of striatal DAT via a PKC-mediated pathway and causes DAT internalization. This is the first report to suggest an EE-mediated mechanism of synaptic plasticity by internalization of striatal DAT.

Lipid emulsion was recently shown to attenuate cell death caused by excitotoxic conditions in the heart. There are key similarities between neurons and cardiomyocytes, such as excitability and conductibility, which yield vulnerability to excitotoxic conditions. However, systematic investigations on the protective effects of lipid emulsion in the central nervous system are still lacking. This study aimed to determine the neuroprotective effects of lipid emulsion in an in vivo rat model of kainic acid-induced excitotoxicity through intrahippocampal microinjections. Kainic acid and/or lipid emulsion-injected rats were subjected to the passive avoidance test and elevated plus maze for behavioral assessment. Rats were sacrificed at 24 h and 72 h after kainic acid injections for molecular study, including immunoblotting and qPCR. Brains were also cryosectioned for morphological analysis through cresyl violet staining and Fluorojade-C staining. Anxiety and memory functions were significantly preserved in 1% lipid emulsion-treated rats. Lipid emulsion was dose-dependent on the protein expression of &beta, catenin and the phosphorylation of GSK3-&beta, and Akt. Wnt1 mRNA expression was elevated in lipid emulsion-treated rats compared to the vehicle. Neurodegeneration was significantly reduced mainly in the CA1 region with increased cell survival. Our results suggest that lipid emulsion has neuroprotective effects against excitotoxic conditions in the brain and may provide new insight into its potential therapeutic utility.

In the pain matrix, the insular cortex (IC) is mainly involved in discriminative sensory and motivative emotion. Abnormal signal transmission from injury site causes neuropathic pain, which generates enhanced synaptic plasticity. The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) complex is the key regulator of protein synthesis; it is involved in the modulation of synaptic plasticity. To date, there has been no report on the changes in optical signals in the IC under neuropathic condition after treatment with mTOR inhibitors, such as Torin1 and XL388. Therefore, we aimed to determine the pain-relieving effect of mTOR inhibitors (Torin1 and XL388) and observe the changes in optical signals in the IC after treatment. Mechanical threshold was measured in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats after neuropathic surgery, and therapeutic effect of inhibitors was assessed on post-operative day 7 following the microinjection of Torin1 or XL388 into the IC. Optical signals were acquired to observe the neuronal activity of the IC in response to peripheral stimulation before and after treatment with mTOR inhibitors. Consequently, the inhibitors showed the most effective alleviation 4 h after microinjection into the IC. In optical imaging, peak amplitudes of optical signals and areas of activated regions were reduced after treatment with Torin1 and XL388. However, there were no significant optical signal changes in the IC before and after vehicle application. These findings suggested that Torin1 and XL388 are associated with the alleviation of neuronal activity that is excessively manifested in the IC, and is assumed to diminish synaptic plasticity.

Manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MEMRI) is based on neuronal activity-dependent manganese uptake, and provides information about nervous system function. However, systematic studies of pain processing using MEMRI are rare, and few investigations of pain using MEMRI have been performed in the spinal cord. Herein, we investigated the pain dependence of manganese ions administered in the rat spinal cord. MnCl2 was administered into the spinal cord via an intrathecal catheter before formalin injection into the right hind paw (50 μL of 5% formalin). The duration of flinching behavior was recorded and analyzed to measure formalin-induced pain. After the behavioral test, rats were sacrificed with an overdose of urethane (50 mg/kg), and spine samples were extracted and post-fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde solution. The samples were stored in 30% sucrose until molecular resonance (MR) scanning was performed. In axial Mn2+ enhancement images of the spinal cord, Mn2+ levels were found to be significantly elevated on the ipsilateral side of the spinal cord in formalin-injected rats. To confirm pain-dependent Mn enhancement in the spinal cord, c-Fos expression was analyzed, and was found to be increased in the formalin-injected rats. These results indicate that MEMRI is useful for functional analysis of the spinal cord under pain conditions. The gray matter appears to be the focus of intense paramagnetic signals. MEMRI may provide an effective technique for visualizing activity-dependent patterns in the spinal cord.

Hypoxic-ischemic (HI) brain injury and spinal cord injury (SCI) lead to extensive tissue loss and axonal degeneration. The combined application of the polymer scaffold and neural progenitor cells (NPCs) has been reported to enhance neural repair, protection and regeneration through multiple modes of action following neural injury. This study investigated the reparative ability and therapeutic potentials of biological bridges composed of human fetal brain-derived NPCs seeded upon poly(glycolic acid)-based scaffold implanted into the infarction cavity of a neonatal HI brain injury or the hemisection cavity in an adult SCI. Implantation of human NPC (hNPC)–scaffold complex reduced the lesion volume, induced survival, engraftment, and differentiation of grafted cells, increased neovascularization, inhibited glial scar formation, altered the microglial/macrophage response, promoted neurite outgrowth and axonal extension within the lesion site, and facilitated the connection of damaged neural circuits. Tract tracing demonstrated that hNPC–scaffold grafts appear to reform the connections between neurons and their targets in both cerebral hemispheres in HI brain injury and protect some injured corticospinal fibers in SCI. Finally, the hNPC–scaffold complex grafts significantly improved motosensory function and attenuated neuropathic pain over that of the controls. These findings suggest that, with further investigation, this optimized multidisciplinary approach of combining hNPCs with biomaterial scaffolds provides a more versatile treatment for brain injury and SCI., Tissue engineering: Repairing brain and spinal injuries Biodegradable scaffolds seeded with human fetal brain cells can help repair neurological injuries in rodents. A team led by Kook In Park and Il-Shin Lee from the Yonsei University College of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea, created a mesh of plastic fibers that they bathed in neural progenitor cells. Over the course of several days, these cells differentiated into different types of brain cells, including neurons and glia. The researchers implanted these cell-scaffold complexes into the sites of injury in two rodent models: newborn mice with oxygen deprivation to the brain, and adult rats with severed spinal cords. In both cases, the treatment helped the injured tissues heal and improved the neurological or motor function of the animals. The authors suggest these tissue-engineered structures could also help people with brain or spine injuries.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) disrupts neuronal networks of ascending and descending tracts at the site of injury, leading to a loss of motor function. Restoration and new circuit formation are important components of the recovery process, which involves collateral sprouting of injured and uninjured fibers. The present study was conducted to determine cortical responses to antidromic stimulation of the corticospinal tracts, to compare changes in the reorganization of neural pathways within normal and spinal cord-injured rats, and to elucidate differences in spatiotemporal activity patterns of the natural progression and reorganization of neural pathways in normal and SCI animals using optical imaging. Optical signals were recorded from the motor cortex in response to electrical stimulation of the ventral horn of the L1 spinal cord. Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) were evaluated to demonstrate endogenous recovery of physiological functions after SCI. A significantly shorter N1 peak latency and broader activation in the MEP optical recordings were observed at 4 weeks after SCI, compared to 1 week after SCI. Spatiotemporal patterns in the cerebral cortex differed depending on functional recovery. In the present study, optical imaging was found to be useful in revealing functional changes and may reflect conditions of reorganization and/or changes in surviving neurons after SCI.

Injury of peripheral nerves can trigger neuropathic pain, producing allodynia and hyperalgesia via peripheral and central sensitization. Recent studies have focused on the role of the insular cortex (IC) in neuropathic pain. Because the IC is thought to store pain-related memories, translational regulation in this structure may reveal novel targets for controlling chronic pain. Signaling via mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), which is known to control mRNA translation and influence synaptic plasticity, has been studied at the spinal level in neuropathic pain, but its role in the IC under these conditions remains elusive. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the role of mTOR signaling in neuropathic pain and to assess the potential therapeutic effects of rapamycin, an inhibitor of mTORC1, in the IC of rats with neuropathic pain. Mechanical allodynia was assessed in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats after neuropathic surgery and following microinjections of rapamycin into the IC on postoperative days (PODs) 3 and 7. Optical recording was conducted to observe the neural responses of the IC to peripheral stimulation. Rapamycin reduced mechanical allodynia and downregulated the expression of postsynaptic density protein 95 (PSD95), decreased neural excitability in the IC, thereby inhibiting neuropathic pain-induced synaptic plasticity. These findings suggest that mTOR signaling in the IC may be a critical molecular mechanism modulating neuropathic pain.

Background Peripheral nerve injury causes physiological changes in primary afferent neurons. Neuropathic pain associated with peripheral nerve injuries may reflect changes in the excitability of the nervous system, including the spinothalamic tract. Current alternative medical research indicates that acupuncture stimulation has analgesic effects in various pain symptoms. However, activation changes in the somatosensory cortex of the brain by acupuncture stimulation remain poorly understood. The present study was conducted to monitor the changes in cortical excitability, using optical imaging with voltage-sensitive dye (VSD) in neuropathic rats after electroacupuncture (EA) stimulation. Methods Male Sprague–Dawley rats were divided into three groups: control (intact), sham injury, and neuropathic pain rats. Under pentobarbital anesthesia, rats were subjected to nerve injury with tight ligation and incision of the tibial and sural nerves in the left hind paw. For optical imaging, the rats were re-anesthetized with urethane, and followed by craniotomy. The exposed primary somatosensory cortex (S1) was stained with VSD for one hour. Optical signals were recorded from the S1 cortex, before and after EA stimulation on Zusanli (ST36) and Yinlingquan (SP9). Results After peripheral stimulation, control and sham injury rats did not show significant signal changes in the S1 cortex. However, inflamed and amplified neural activities were observed in the S1 cortex of nerve-injured rats. Furthermore, the optical signals and region of activation in the S1 cortex were reduced substantially after EA stimulation, and recovered in a time-dependent manner. The peak fluorescence intensity was significantly reduced until 90 min after EA stimulation (Pre-EA: 0.25 ± 0.04 and Post-EA 0 min: 0.01 ± 0.01), and maximum activated area was also significantly attenuated until 60 min after EA stimulation (Pre-EA: 37.2 ± 1.79 and Post-EA 0 min: 0.01 ± 0.10). Conclusion Our results indicate that EA stimulation has inhibitory effects on excitatory neuronal signaling in the S1 cortex, caused by noxious stimulation in neuropathic pain. These findings suggest that EA stimulation warrants further study as a potential adjuvant modulation of neuropathic pain.

Cation-specific epithelial receptors on the tongue have been well demonstrated. However, active regions along the nucleus of the solitary tract (NST) for cations Na+, K+, NH4+ are still unclear, even though the best responses of NST neurons to taste stimuli vary depending on the cell. In the present study, the spatial distribution patterns of cation-specific active regions in the NST are investigated. The tongues of urethane-anesthetized Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 25) were stimulated with artificial saliva (control), 0.5 M NaCl, 1.0 M NaCl, 0.5 M KCl, and 0.3 M NH4Cl. Then, the three-dimensional positions of c-Fos-like-immunoreactive (cFLI) cells in the NST were generated. The spatial distributions of cFLI cells in the NST were compared among five taste stimulations. cFLI cells were observed throughout the NST, irrespective of the stimulus; however, the intermediate-medial central regions of the NST had higher numbers of cFLI cells than the other regions in all taste stimulations. Analysis of images revealed that the activated regions in the NST differed significantly depending on the cations. The intermediate-dorsal-central region and the caudal-ventral region were activated by a 0.5 M concentration of sodium, the rostral-ventral region and the intermediate-dorsal/ventral region were activated by a 1.0 M concentration of sodium, the intermediate-dorsal/ventral region was activated by potassium ions, and the rostral-ventral region and the intermediate-ventral central region were activated by ammonium ions. These results suggest that the responses of NST cells to cation salt ions are regulated differentially. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Electrophysiological and biochemical assays were used to observe long-term changes in synaptic efficacy following electrical and/or pharmacological manipulation of synaptic function. We investigated the effects of FK506 on synaptic plasticity in organotypic hippocampal slice culture (OHSC) using optical imaging system. Hippocampal slices were prepared from 6-7 day-old rats using a tissue chopper and placed on a membrane insert. 18 hr after kainic acid (KA) treatment, significant delayed neuronal death which was quantified by propidium iodide, NeuN, and TUNEL staining was detected in CA3 area at 24 hr after KA treatment. The neuronal death was prevented significantly at 24 hr after 0.1 μM FK506 treatment. In the electrophysiology study, optical signals were observed by long-term potentiation (LTP) followed by the stimulation of the Schaffer collateral pathway. The improvement in amount of LTP was found in the FK506-treated group. These results suggest that FK506 may have a beneficial role in recovery of synaptic efficacy following KA-induced neuronal injury.

The insular cortex (IC) is a pain-related brain region that receives various types of sensory input and processes the emotional aspects of pain. The present study was conducted to investigate spatiotemporal patterns related to neuroplastic changes in the IC after nerve injury using voltage-sensitive dye imaging. The tibial and sural nerves of rats were injured under pentobarbital anesthesia. To observe optical signals in the IC, rats were re-anesthetized with urethane 7days after injury, and a craniectomy was performed to allow for optical imaging. Optical signals of the IC were elicited by peripheral electrical stimulation. Neuropathic rats showed a significantly higher optical intensity following 5.0mA electrical stimulation compared to sham-injured rats. A larger area of activation was observed by 1.25 and 2.5mA electrical stimulation compared to sham-injured rats. The activated areas tended to be larger, and the peak amplitudes of optical signals increased with increasing stimulation intensity in both groups. These results suggest that the elevated responsiveness of the IC to peripheral stimulation is related to neuropathic pain, and that neuroplastic changes are likely to be involved in the IC after nerve injury.

Background: Very little is known about the neural circuitry underlying anger processing among alcoholics. The purpose of this study was to examine the altered brain activity of alcoholic individuals during transient anger emotion. Methods: Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), 18 male patients diagnosed with alcohol dependence in an inpatient alcohol treatment facility and 16 social drinkers with similar demographics were scanned during the viewing of anger-provoking film clips. Results: While there was no significant difference in the level of experienced anger between alcohol-dependent patients and non-alcoholic controls, significantly greater activation was observed in the bilateral dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and the right precentral gyrus among alcoholic patients compared to the normal controls. Conclusions: In summary, specific brain regions were identified that are associated with anger among patients with alcohol dependency.

This study was designed to investigate functional recovery after the transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) or neurally differentiated MSCs (NMSCs) derived from bone marrow in a rat model of spinal cord injury (SCI). Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to incomplete SCI using an NYU impactor to create a free drop contusion at the T9 level. The SCI rats were then classified into three groups; MSCs, NMSCs, and phosphate-buffered saline (PBS)-treated groups. The cells or PBS were administrated 1 week after SCI. Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan (BBB) locomotor rating scores were measured at 1-week intervals for 9 weeks. Somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) and motor evoked potentials (MEPs) were also recorded 8 weeks after transplantation. While transplantation of MSCs led to a clear tendency of motor recovery, NMSC-treated rats had significantly improved BBB scores and showed significantly shortened initial latency, N1 latency, and P1 latency of the SSEPs compared to PBS controls. In addition, 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU)-prelabeled MSCs costained for BrdU and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) or myelin basic protein (MBP) were found rostrally and caudally 5 mm each from the epicenter of the necrotic cavity 4 weeks after transplantation. These results suggest that neurally differentiated cells might be an effective therapeutic source for functional recovery after SCI.

Bae Hwan Lee, Minjee Kwon, Ran Won Department of Physiology, Brain Korea 21 PLUS Project for Medical Science, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 50-1 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea bhlee@yuhs.ac; mjkwon486@yuhs.ac Department of Biomedical Laboratory Science, Division of Health Sciences, Dongseo University, 47 Jurye-ro, Sasang-gu, Busan 47011, Republic of Korea wonran@gdsu.dongseo.ac.kr