Widespread Horizontal Connections Arising from Layer 5/6 Border Inverted Cells in Rabbit Visual Cortex

Herein we describe the inverted cells [defined as those projection neurons having a major dendritic shaft abpially oriented (Bueno-López et al., Eur. J. Neurosci. , 3, 415, 1991)] originating a unique set of cortical connections characterized by extraordinarily widespread horizontal distribution. Single and multiple injections of wheatgerm agglutinin - horseradish peroxidase were made in areas 17 and 18 and the resulting retrograde labelling in the cortex was analysed. The findings were assessed in independent control experiments in which Fluoro-Gold was used as retrograde tracer. Following single injections in area 17 several separate patches of labelled cells comprising layers 2–6 were consistently found in area 18. In addition to these associational cells a number of labelled cells appeared at the layer 5/6 border but were distributed over most of the tangential extent of the visual occipital cortex. This widespread pattern was particularly striking in brains after multiple injections. In these brains a conspicuous band of labelled cells at the 5/6 border radiated from the injection sites, making up an apparently continuous horizontal sheet that intersected the striate - extrastriate boundary and merged with the patches of labelled cells in area 18 and beyond. Most of the cells in the 5/6 border band were inverted cells (82%; n = 2081). Injections in area 18 failed to produce such a widespread set of labelled cells in area 17. The functional significance of these connections furnished by the 5/6 border inverted cells remains to be determined, but their distribution would allow for convergent/divergent binding interactions both intra-areally (within area 17) and inter-areally (from area 18 to area 17).     

Cerebral metabolic and vasopressin and oxytocin responses during osmotic stimulation in conscious rats

Intravenous infusion of hypertonic saline increased plasma [Na (+) ] and osmolality and induced a short-latency drinking response. These changes were associated with increased glucose utilization in the supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei and neural lobe, and decreases in the medial septum and nucleus ambiguus. The increases in glucose utilization were more accentuated in the supraoptic nuclei than in paraventricular nuclei, indicating that they are more sensitive to osmotic stimulation than the paraventricular nuclei. In association with enhanced activity in the hypothalamo-neurohypophysial system, plasma vasopressin and oxytocin concentrations increased, with a preferential increase of oxytocin over vasopressin. The hormonal contents in the neural lobe were not depleted by the osmotic stimulus despite the large increases of their concentrations in the plasma.     

On the Life Span of Olfactory Receptor Neurons

The life span of olfactory receptor neurons was investigated after injection of a retrograde tracer into the olfactory bulb. Mice were injected unilaterally with colloidal gold conjugated with Concanavalin A and their olfactory epithelia were examined after 7, 14, 30, 60, and 90 days. Gold particles could be seen in the epithelia at all survival periods after silver intensification. There was no gold in the epithelia on the uninjected side. In order to test whether gold could be recycled within the epithelium upon the death of receptor neurons, the olfactory bulbs of some mice were ablated 4 days after colloidal gold injection. None of the receptor neurons in these epithelia contained gold at any survival period. To investigate whether gold was continuously available at the injection site, olfactory bulbs were examined by electron microscopy. By 7 days after injection all gold was sequestered intracellularly and was presumably unavailable for uptake by the olfactory axons. These results indicate that olfactory receptor neurons live for at least three times the commonly accepted life span of 30 days. A long life span challenges the widely held view that olfactory receptor neurons are regularly replaced.     

Prognosis in node-negative primary breast cancer: a neural network analysis of risk profiles using routinely assessed factors.

BACKGROUND: The present study investigated complex time-dependent effects of routinely assessed factors on the risk of breast cancer recurrence over follow-up time, with a partial logistic artificial neural network (PLANN) model. PATIENTS AND METHODS: PLANN was applied to data from 1793 patients with node-negative breast cancer, not submitted to any adjuvant treatment and with a minimal potential follow-up of 10 years. RESULTS: The shape of the hazard function changed according to histology, which showed a time-dependent effect, partly modulated by estrogen receptors (ERs). Age and progesterone receptors (PgR) showed protective effects; the latter was more evident for short follow-up and high ER values. Tumour size and ER content showed time-dependent unfavourable effects at early and long follow-up times, respectively. Predicted values of disease recurrence probability at 2 years of follow-up showed that low steroid-receptor content, young age and large tumour size were associated with the highest risk of relapse. Although the oldest patients with high ER content seem to be those most protected overall, high risk predictions tend to spread also to higher steroid-receptor contents, intermediate ages and small tumour size, with an increase in follow-up time. CONCLUSION: PLANN with suitable visualisation techniques provided thorough insights into the dynamics of breast cancer recurrence for improving individual risk staging of node-negative breast cancer patients.     

大鼠脑神经干细胞神经巢蛋白表达的流式细胞术检测

检测胎鼠及成年大鼠脑内神经干细胞特异性抗原神经巢蛋白的表达,判明啮齿类哺乳动物脑内神经干细胞存在的可能性及相应的部位。方法：显微手术下采取胎鼠及成年大鼠大脑与皮质下脑组织,间接荧光法标记ｎｅｓｔｉｎ,以流式细胞术检测。结果胎鼠脑内普遍存在ｎｅｓｔｉｎ阳性细胞,成年大鼠脑室旁组织中也存在ｎｅｓｔｉｎ阳性细胞。     

青光眼的中枢损伤

青光眼性损伤的形态学特征及病理机制 ,在视网膜节细胞水平及视神经水平已得到广泛研究 ;最近研究表明 ,青光眼对外侧膝状体、视皮质等中枢视路也存在相应损伤 ,并且提示青光眼的中枢损伤可能参与视功能状态的进一步恶化。我们对近年来青光眼中枢损伤的病理形态学及病理机制研究作一综述。     

The Basis of Hyperspecificity in Autism: A Preliminary Suggestion Based on Properties of Neural Nets

This article reviews a few key ideas about the representation of information in neural networks and uses these ideas to address one aspect of autism, namely, the apparent hyperspecificity that is often seen in autistic children's application of previously acquired information. Hyperspecificity is seen as reflecting a possible feature of the neural codes used to represent concepts in the autistic brain.     

Fetal striatal transplants reinstate the electrophysiological response of pallidal neurons to systemic apomorphine challenge in rats with excitotoxic striatal lesions

Previous studies with single-unit recording and 2-[14C]deoxyglucose quantitative autoradiography have shown that systemic administration of apomorphine increases the functional activity of pallidal neurons, and that the enhancement in the globus pallidus (GP) activity is abolished by striatal lesions. The present study employing electrophysiological techniques tested whether embryonic striatal tissue implanted in the excitotoxically damaged striatum of rats may affect the lesion-induced alteration in the neuronal response of GP to apomorphine. Systemically administered apomorphine significantly increased spontaneously firing rates of GP cells. The blockade of dopamine receptors with haloperidol reversed the increased rate to baseline levels. Quinolinate-induced striatal lesions attenuated the rate-increasing effect of apomorphine. Embryonic striatal grafts placed in the lesioned striatum restored the response of GP cells to systemic apomorphine. The graft-mediated restoration of the GP neuron response to apomorphine were accompanied by an improvement in the motor asymmetry induced by this drug. Considering previous anatomical data to demonstrate extensive innervation of the GP by embryonic striatal grafts, the present results suggest that the grafts reconstruct the functional striatopallidal pathway which is capable of transmitting apomorphine-induced changes in the neuronal activity.     

医疗机构中药制剂创新和持续发展能力评价研究

目的 对医疗机构中药制剂创新和持续发展能力进行综合评价,为行政管理部门决策及各医院中药制剂可持续发展提供参考。方法 以浙江省133家医疗机构中药制剂调研数据为对象,利用层次分析法构建医疗机构中药制剂创新和持续发展能力评价体系,通过反向传播神经网络构建中药制剂室/中心评价体系预测模型。结果 构建的医疗机构中药制剂创新和持续发展能力评价指标体系包含4项二级指标以及19项三级指标,其中研发品种数、超百万品种数、注册品种数、研发方式、制剂室面积指标的权重值较高,分别为 0.15758、0.12928、0.09343、0.07879和0.07458。熵权法结合层次分析法的指标权重构建反向传播神经网络,Levenberg-Marquardt算法和Scaled Conjugate Gradient算法训练模型总体相关系数分别为0.98983和0.9348。结论 本研究构建了一个科学有效的医疗机构中药制剂创新和持续发展能力综合评价体系,可实现对医疗机构中药制剂综合能力的预测评价。     

灵芝孢子对大鼠受损伤的脊髓神经干细胞增殖和分化的影响

目的探讨灵芝孢子对大鼠受损伤的脊髓自身神经干细胞增殖和分化的影响。方法将成年SD 大鼠随机分成损伤不用药组和损伤用药组。对两组动物 T12脊髓段施行右侧半横断后,在其腹腔内注射溴脱氧尿嘧啶(5’-Bromo-2’-deoxyuridine,BrdU 50mg/kg),每天2次,连续注射10天。损伤用药组动物胃饲灵芝孢子。在脊髓损伤后2周和4周,用免疫荧光组织化学法检测两组动物脊髓中央管室管膜细胞的 BrdU、nestin、neurofilament(NF)、oligodendrocyte specific protein 和 glial fibrillary acidic protein(GFAP)标记物,并分析其增殖和分化情况。结果损伤用药组大鼠脊髓室管膜细胞 BrdU 阳性染色数量[(45.67±3.62)个]高于损伤不用药组[(29.91±3.68)个]。在脊髓白质中,有些 BrdU 阳性细胞同时表达 oligodendrocyte specific protein 或nestin 或 NF 或 GFAP。结论灵芝孢子能够促进大鼠受损伤脊髓中央管室管膜细胞增殖,少数增殖后的细胞能分化为神经干细胞、神经元...