Effects of combined entorhinal cortex-hippocampal lesions on locomotor behavior, spontaneous alternation and spatial maze learning in the rat

Male Sprague-Dawley rats with combined lesions to the dorsal and lateral aspects of the entorhinal cortex in one hemisphere and of the contralateral dorsolateral hippocampal formation were compared with both operated and unoperated controls on three different behaviors, monitored across a 53 day postoperative period. The rats with the combined entorhinal cortex-hippocampal lesions (EH) showed transient hyperactivity in the open field, transient reduction in spontaneous alternation levels in an unbaited T-maze and persistent deficits in learning spatial maze problems. The results of the present experiment are discussed in comparison with those from experiments on rats with bilateral hippocampal lesions and those from experiments on rats with bilateral entorhinal cortex lesions. Although some similarities among these findings suggest that these two brain regions probably function in a coordinated fashion with respect to these behaviors, differences in the various syndromes are also discussed.     

前脑缺血再灌流后大鼠海马 NMDA受体亚单位NR1蛋白的表达变化

目的　观察大鼠前脑缺血再灌流后海马各区域NMDA受体亚单位NR1表达的变化和差异 ,探讨NR1在缺血性脑损伤中的作用。　方法　免疫组织化学和图像处理技术。　结果　 1 在前脑缺血再灌流后早期 ,海马各区域NR1的表达水平显著下降 (P <0 0 5 )。CA1区 ,下降趋势持续存在且不可逆 ,直至再灌流后第 7d ,NR1在该区域的染色强度降至对照组的 17% (P <0 0 5 )。CA3区及齿状回 ,NR1的表达下降是可逆的 ,再灌流后 72h ,齿状回的表达恢复正常 ,再灌后第 7d ,CA3区的表达也恢复到对照组的 96 % ,两组间染色强度无显著差异。 2 在迟发性神经元坏死出现前的缺血再灌流的早期 ,NR1在CA1区、CA3区及齿状回表达下降的幅度不一致 ,再灌后 6h以前 ,CA1区的下降幅度明显小于CA3区及齿状回 (P <0 0 5 ) ,再灌后 12h ,CA1区的下降幅度仍低于CA3区 (P <0 0 5 )。结论　短暂性前脑缺血后 ,NR1在海马CA1区、CA3区及齿状回表达下降的幅度和可逆性存在显著差异 ,这种差异可能是造成CA1区缺血敏感性的重要原因。     

银杏叶提取物对血管性痴呆大鼠海马突触素表达的影响

目的：研究银杏叶提取物(EGb761)对血管性痴呆模型大鼠海马突触素表达的影响。方法:以双侧颈总动脉反复夹闭再通同时腹腔注射硝普钠建立血管性痴呆模型大鼠，采用Morris 水迷宫和免疫组化方法分别观察大鼠空间学习记忆能力及海马突触素(SYN)表达情况。结果:模型组大鼠在1月、2月和4月不同时点测得的Morris水迷宫逃避潜伏期(EL)均较假手术组明显延长(P<0.01)，药物组EL均显著短于模型组，但仍长于假手术组(P<0.05或P<0.01)；模型组海马SYN表达弱于假手术组，而药物组海马SYN表达高于模型组(P<0.01)。结论:EGb761增加海马结构SYN表达可能是其改善VD大鼠学习记忆障碍的重要机制。     

脑缺血再灌流对大鼠海马FOS蛋白的诱导及电针对其的影响

目的　探讨脑缺血再灌流后电针对大鼠海马FOS蛋白表达的影响。方法　采用夹闭大鼠双侧颈总动脉造成的脑缺血再灌流损伤模型 ,电针“百会”、“风池”、“大钟”及“足三里”穴 ,频率 2～ 2 0Hz,强度以肌肉轻微抖动为准 ,持续 30min ,4h后观察海马FOS蛋白的表达。结果　电针能明显加强脑缺血再灌流后海马各区FOS蛋白的表达。结论　缺血再灌流可诱导海马FOS蛋白的显著表达 ;电针信息对缺血后海马神经元的功能可能会有影响。     

Hippocampal granule cells are necessary for normal spatial learning but not for spatially-selective pyramidal cell discharge

Summary The effects of massive destruction of granule cells of the fascia dentata on the spatial and temporal firing characteristics of pyramidal cells in the CA1 and CA3 subfields of the hippocampus were examined in freely moving rats. Microinjections of the neurotoxin colchicine were made at a number of levels along the septo-temporal axis of the dentate gyri of both hemispheres, resulting in destruction of over 75% of the granule cells. By contrast there was relatively little damage to the pyramidal cell fields. As assessed by three different behavioral tests, the colchicine treatment resulted in severe spatial learning deficits. Single units were recorded from the CA1 and CA3 subfields using the stereotrode recording method while the animals performed a forced choice behavioral task on the radial 8-arm maze. Considering the extent of damage to the dentate gyrus, which has hitherto been considered to be the main source of afferent information to the CA fields, there was remarkably little effect on the spatial selectivity of place cell discharge on the maze, as compared to recordings from control animals. There was, however, a change in the temporal firing characteristics of these cells, which was manifested primarily as an increase in the likelihood of burst discharge. The main conclusion derived from these findings is that most of the spatial information exhibited by hippocampal pyramidal cells is likely to be transmitted from the cortex by routes other than the traditional trisynaptic circuit. These routes may include the direct projections from entorhinal layers II and III to CA3 and CA1, respectively.     

加味四逆散对慢性束缚应激大鼠海马部分氨基酸含量的影响

目的：观察加味四逆散对慢性束缚应激大鼠海马部分氨基酸含量的影响。 方法： 大鼠随机分为3组：正常对照组、模型组、加味四逆散组。采用OPA高效液相色谱分析法检测海马氨基酸含量。 结果： 模型组海马谷氨酸（Glu）、天冬氨酸（Asp）含量明显高于正常对照组（P<0.01），γ-氨基丁酸（GABA）和牛磺氨酸（Tau）含量明显低于正常对照组（P<0.01或P<0.05）；加味四逆散组Glu、Asp明显低于模型组（P<0.05），GABA和Tau含量变化不明显。 结论： 加味四逆散能调节慢性束缚应激反应海马部分氨基酸水平，防止兴奋性氨基酸的神经毒性作用。     

白细胞介素-2对大鼠海马脑电图和胶质细胞的影响——免疫组织化学和显微图像分析等方法的研究

为探讨白细胞介素与癫痫发病机理的关系，该研究应用脑电图仪记录了侧脑室内注射白细胞介素－２（ＩＬ－２）后，大鼠海马脑电图的变化。结果显示：侧脑室内注射ＩＬ－２后，大鼠海马脑电图出现阵发性痫性放电，表现为频发棘波；应用免疫组织化学方法（ＰＡＰ法）和显微图像分析技术，观察到：侧脑室内注射ＩＬ－２后，大鼠海马回和齿状回内胶质原纤维酸性蛋白（ＧＦＡＰ）免疫反应的胶质细胞的数量明显增多、胞体截面积增大、突起及其分支增多。对大鼠海马回ＣＡ１区ＧＦＡＰ免疫反应的胶质细胞进行显微图像分析，结果显示；与正常对照组相比，ＩＬ－２组的细胞数量约增加０．４８倍、胞体截面积约增加１．７３倍、周长约增加１．０９倍、平均光密度约增加０．２０倍、积分光密度约增加２．３１倍。统计结果表明：差异有极显著性意义（Ｐ＜０．０１）。上述结果提示：大鼠侧脑室内注射ＩＬ－２可促进海马星形胶质细胞的增殖、肥大和细胞突起的萌芽。     

Source Localization of P300 from Oddball, Single Stimulus, and Omitted-Stimulus Paradigms

Three different auditory stimulus paradigms were used to elicit P300 potentials. Normal subjects were tested on the classical rare target stimulus, single-stimulus and omitted-stimulus conditions. Noninvasive identification of the cerebral sources of the event-related potentials (ERPs) was performed using spatio-temporal multiple dipole modeling (BESA software) with individually sized spherical head models. The grand average data of each condition was first independently modeled and these models were used as starting values for modeling each individual subject's data. Models for the rare-stimulus condition and single-stimulus condition both consisted of 6 dipoles. Models for the omitted-stimulus condition consisted of 2 dipoles. The dipole locations of the final individual 6-dipole models for the rare and single-stimulus conditions did not differ significantly from each other or from one previous result obtained from a another group of subjects (Tarkka et al. 1995). Super-imposition of the dipole coordinates on the sterotaxic brain atlas suggests that bilateral deep medial temporal lobe structures are the major contributors to rare and single-stimulus P300s. Because both the wave form morphology and the source model of the P300 elicited by single stimulus were close to those of the rare-stimulus P300 it may be that the underlying neural mechanisms eliciting these P300 potentials are essentially the same.     

Chronic social stress: effects on limbic brain structures

Different types of stressors are known to activate distinct neuronal circuits in the brain. Acute physiological stimuli that are life threatening and require immediate reactions lead to a rapid stimulation of brainstem and hypothalamus to activate efferent visceral pathways. In contrast, psychological stressors activate higher-order brain structures for further interpretations of the perceived endangerment. Common to the later multimodal stressors is that they need cortical processing and, depending on previous experience or ongoing activation, the information is assembled within limbic circuits connecting, e.g., the hippocampus, amygdala and prefrontal cortex to induce neuroendocrine and behavioral responses. In view of the fact that stressful life events often contribute to the etiology of psychopathologies such as depressive episodes, several animal models have been developed to study central nervous mechanisms that are induced by stress. The present review summarizes observations made in the tree shrew chronic psychosocial stress paradigm with particular focus on neurotransmitter systems and structural changes in limbic brain regions.     

Increase in ferric and ferrous iron in the rat hippocampus with time after kainate-induced excitotoxic injury

The present study aimed to elucidate the distribution of ferric and ferrous iron in the hippocampus after kainate-induced neuronal injury. A modified Perl's or Turnbull's blue histochemical stain was used to demonstrate Fe3+ and Fe2+ respectively. Very light staining for iron was observed in the hippocampus, in normal or saline-injected rats and 1-day post-kainate-injected rats. At 1 week postinjection, a number of Fe3+-positive, but very few Fe2+-positive, cells were present, in the degenerating CA fields. At 1 month postinjection, large numbers of Fe3+-positive glial cells, and some Fe2+-positive blood vessels, were observed. At 2 months postinjection, large numbers of Fe3+- and Fe2+-positive glial cells were present. The labeled cells had light and electron microscopic features of oligodendrocytes, and were double labeled with CNPase, a marker for oligodendrocytes. The observation of an increasing number of Fe3+- and Fe2+-positive cells in the degenerating hippocampus with time is consistent with the results of a nuclear microscopic study, in which an increasing amount of iron was detected in the degenerating hippocampus after kainate injection. In addition, the present study showed a shift in the oxidation state of the accumulated iron, with more cells becoming Fe2+ at a late stage. A possible consequence of the high amounts of Fe2+ in the hippocampus after kainate injection is that it could promote free radical damage in the lesioned areas.