Extratemporal atrophy in patients with complex partial seizures of left temporal origin

Total cerebral, temporal lobe, hippocampal, caudate, and lenticular nuclei volumes were quantified from magnetic resonance images of 21 patients with left temporal lobe epilepsy and medically intractable complex partial seizures. These regional brain volumes were compared with the same measures in 19 controls. No significant differences in total cerebral, left temporal lobe, right temporal lobe, or total temporal lobe volumes were found. As expected, left hippocampal volumes were significantly smaller in the patients with epilepsy than in control subjects. The left hippocampus-to-right hippocampus volume ratio was significantly lower in patients than in control subjects. In addition to left hippocampal volumes, mean left thalamic, left caudate, and bilateral lenticular volumes were significantly smaller in the patients with epilepsy than in control subjects. The left-to-right thalamic volume ratio was also significantly lower in the patients with epilepsy compared with control subjects, but there were no significant group differences in caudate or lenticular ratios. These results show that medically intractable temporal lobe epilepsy is associated with volume loss in brain structures outside the presumably involved hippocampus. The pathophysiological significance of our findings is uncertain. They could be related to the underlying cause of the disorder. However, volume loss also may reflect damage due to involvement of these structures in recurrent seizure activity.     

Tubulin stimulates adenylyl cyclase activity in rat striatal membranes via transfer of guanine nucleotide to Gs protein

Previous studies of rat cerebral cortex and rat C6 glioma cells have demonstrated that dimeric tubulin is capable of activating the G proteins Gs and Gil via transfer of guanine nucleotide from tubulin to Gs α and Gil α. To provide further information regarding cytoskeletal modulation of adenylyl cyclase, the present study examined effects of tubulin on the activation of the enzyme in rat striatal membranes. Tubulin, prepared from rat brain by polymerization with the hydrolysis-resistant GTP analog 5′-guanylylimidodiphosphate (GppNHp) caused significant activation of adenylyl cyclase by 130%. Furthermore, tubulin-GppNHp activated SKF 38393-sensitive adenylyl cyclase and potentiated forskolin-stimulated activity of the enzyme. When tubulin, polymerized with the hydrolysis-resistant photoaffinity GTP analog[³²p]p³ (4-azidoanilido)-p¹-5′-GTP ([³²P]AAGTP), was incubated with striatal membranes, AAGTP was transferred from tubulin to Gs α as well as Gi α with the extents of nucleotide transfers being 7.6 ± 0.8% and 17.8 ± 1.4% of AAGTP originally bound to tubulin, respectively. These results indicate that, in rat striatum, the tubulin dimer participates in the stimulatory regulation of adenylyl cyclase by transferring guanine nucleotide to Gs α, supporting the hypothesis that tubulin contributes to the regulation of neuronal signal transduction.     

Development of the right ear advantage in dichotic listening test: comparison of the findings by cross-sectional and longitudinal studies

The right ear advantage in dichotic listening test for VCV word pairs was investigated using both longitudinal and cross-sectional methods with children whose age ranged from four to six. The degree of a right ear advantage and the population of those who showed a right ear advantage increased with age in the cross-sectional method. In the longitudinal method, however, the above findings could not be confirmed. These results suggest that the application of dichotic listening test may be inappropriate to young children.     

Modulation of Mg(2+)-dependent [3H]TCP binding by L-glutamate, glycine, and guanine nucleotides in rat cerebral cortex.

Biochemical and electrophysiological studies have demonstrated that phencyclidine (PCP) recognition site exists in the ion channel of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor ion channel complex. Using an extensively washed rat cortical membrane preparation, the effects of Mg2+ and guanylylimidodiphosphate (GppNHp) were examined on the binding of [3H]-N-[1-(2-thienyl)cyclohexyl]-3,4-piperidine ([3H]TCP). Low concentrations of Mg2+ (EC50 = 11 microM) stimulated [3H]TCP binding under the basal condition and high concentrations of Mg2+ (IC50 = 1 mM) inhibited it. In the presence of 10 microM L-glutamate and 10 microM glycine, their EC50 values for Mg2+ enhancement of [3H]TCP binding were markedly reduced (to 1.9 microM or 8.4 microM), respectively. By contrast, the IC50 values for Mg2+ inhibition of [3H]TCP binding were reduced in the presence of L-glutamate, but not glycine. Furthermore, a stimulatory effect of Mg2+ on [3H]TCP binding was additional to the [3H]TCP binding stimulated by a maximally effective concentration of L-glutamate (10 microM) or glycine (10 microM). In the kinetic study, 300 microM Mg2+ produced an increase in the rates of both association and dissociation of [3H]TCP. Similar results were obtained with L-glutamate (10 microM) and glycine (10 microM); 10 mM Mg2+ also caused an acceleration of the association rate but strongly decreased [3H]TCP binding at equilibrium. Compared with [3H]TCP binding under the basal condition, K+ (10 mM) alone decreased the maximal binding without producing any change in the association rate; 10 mM K+ also significantly decreased Mg(2+)-stimulated [3H]TCP binding but caused no change in the acceleration of the association rate caused by Mg2+.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Effects of L-glutamine on tyrosinase and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase of B-16 melanoma cells in culture

Omission of L-glutamine (Gln) from the culture medium decreases tyrosinase activity and increases γ-GTP activity in cultured melanotic B-16 melanoma cells; inclusion of this amino acid in the medium shows the reverse effects. Its absence, however, decreases the γ-GTP activity in non-pigmented cells like HeLa cells, fibroblasts and amelanotic melanoma cells and its presence induces a dose dependent increase in this enzyme activity in these cells. The decrease of γ-GTP activity in the melanotic melanoma cells by Gln is attributed to increased production of dopa and its derivatives by these cells, as evidenced by our results. Our data also indicate the inhibitory effects of dopa and several other dopa derivatives known to be produced by the melanoma cells on isolated bovine kidney γ-GTP.     

Effects of ceruletide on the dopamine receptor-adenylate cyclase system in striatum and frontal cortex of rats chronically treated with haloperidol

Chronic treatment of rats with haloperidol decanoate (30 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg IM every 4 weeks for 52 weeks) increased [³H] SCH 23390 binding in striatal membranes by 25% and 50% and in frontal cortical membranes by 56% and 125% in 30 and 100 mg/kg haloperidol treatment groups, respectively. These increases in [³H] SCH 23390 binding to the membranes were restored to control levels after ceruletide treatment (100 µg/kg IP twice a day for 5 days). [³H] Spiperone binding to the rat striatal and cortical membranes also increased after chronic haloperidol treatment (by 66% and 99% in striatal membranes and by 27% and 62% in cortical membranes in the 30 and 100 mg/kg haloperidol treatment groups, respectively). Administration of ceruletide to haloperidol-treated rats reduced the increased [³H] spiperone binding to the cortical membranes toward the control level, but ceruletide was not effective in reducing the haloperidol-induced increase of [³H] spiperone binding to the striatal membranes. Activation of adenylate cyclase by dopamine (1 µM or 100 µM) or Gpp(NH)p (1 µM) was reduced in striatal and cortical membranes from haloperidol-treated rats. Ceruletide restored the lowered level of dopamine-stimulated or Gpp(NH)p-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity in the membranes from haloperidol-treated rats to control levels. These findings indicate that systemically administered ceruletide is capable of reversing alterations in D₁ dopamine receptor/D₁ dopamine receptor coupling to adenylate cyclase in striatum and frontal cortex induced by chronic treatment of rats with haloperidol decanoate.