Growth and development of trabecular structure in the calcaneus of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) reflects locomotor behavior,life history,and neuromuscular development

Bone structure dynamically adapts to its mechanical environment throughout ontogeny by altering the structure of trabecular bone, the three‐dimensional mesh‐like structure found underneath joint surfaces. Trabecular structure, then, can provide a record of variation in loading directions and magnitude; and in ontogenetic samples, it can potentially be used to track developmental shifts in limb posture. We aim to broaden the analysis of trabecular bone ontogeny by incorporating interactions between ontogenetic variation in locomotor repertoire, neuromuscular maturation, and life history. We examine the associations between these variables and age‐related variation in trabecular structure in the calcaneus of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata). We used high‐resolution micro‐computed tomography scanning to image the calcaneus in a cross‐sectional sample of 34 juvenile M. fuscata aged between 0 and 7 years old at the Primate Research Institute, Japan. We calculated whole bone averages of standard trabecular properties and generated whole‐bone morphometric maps of bone volume fraction and Young’s modulus. Trabecular structure becomes increasingly heterogeneous in older individuals. Bone volume fraction (BV/total volume [TV]) decreases during the first month of life and increases afterward, coinciding with the onset of independent locomotion in M. fuscata. At birth, primary Young’s modulus is oriented orthogonal to the ossification center, but after locomotor onset bone structure becomes stiffest in the direction of joint surfaces and muscle attachments. Age‐related variation in bone volume fraction is best predicted by an interaction between the estimated percentage of adult brain size, body mass, and locomotor onset. To explain our findings, we propose a model where interactions between age‐related increases in body weight and maturation of the neuromuscular system alter the loading environment of the calcaneus, to which the internal trabecular structure dynamically adapts. This model cannot be directly tested based on our cross‐sectional data. However, confirmation of the model by longitudinal experiments and in multiple species would show that trabecular structure can be used both to infer behavior from fossil morphology and serve as a valuable proxy for neuromuscular maturation and life history events like locomotor onset and the achievement of an adult‐like gait. This approach could significantly expand our knowledge of the biology and behavior of fossil species.     

外源性N-甲基-D-天冬氨酸对成年大鼠被动回避学习记忆的影响

目的 探讨脑内植入外源性N-甲基-D-天冬氨酸(NMDA)对成年大鼠被动回避学习记忆的影响. 方法 在大鼠脑内植入不同浓度的NMDA缓释膜片后,比较各组大鼠被动同避学习记忆(避暗实验)的能力以及额前腹内侧皮质(vMPFC)及扣带同前皮质(ACC)区域NMDA受体活性的区别. 结果 避暗实验中各组大鼠潜伏期和错误次数间差异无统计学意义(P=0.846,P=0.792).各组大鼠vMPFC及ACC区域的NMDA受体活性之间差异无统计学意义(P=0.546),但随着所植入的缓释膜片中NMDA浓度增加.这些区域NMDA受体活性有降低的趋势. 结论 外源性植入NMDA对成年大鼠被动回避学习记忆无明显影响,但本实验为进一步研究NMDA改变受损脑组织的神经可塑性奠定了一定的基础.     

The New Associationism: A Neural Explanation for the Predictive Powers of Cerebral Cortex

The ability to predict is the most importantability of the brain. Somehow, the cortex isable to extract regularities from theenvironment and use those regularities as abasis for prediction. This is a most remarkableskill, considering that behaviourallysignificant environmental regularities are noteasy to discern: they operate not only betweenpairs of simple environmental conditions, astraditional associationism has assumed, butamong complex functions of conditions that areorders of complexity removed from raw sensoryinputs. We propose that the brain's basicmechanism for discovering such complexregularities is implemented in the dendritictrees of individual pyramidal cells in thecerebral cortex. Pyramidal cells have 5–8principal dendrites, each of which is capableof learning nonlinear input-to-outputtransfer functions. We propose that eachdendrite is trained, in learning its transferfunction, by all the other principal dendritesof the same cell. These dendrites teach eachother to respond to their separate inputs withmatching outputs. Exposed to differentbut related information about the sensoryenvironment, principal dendrites of the samecell tune to functions over environmentalconditions that, while different, arecorrelated. As a result, the cell as awhole tunes to the source of the regularitiesdiscovered by the cooperating dendrites,creating a new representation. When organizedinto feed-forward/feedback layers, pyramidalcells can build their discoveries on thediscoveries of other cells, graduallyuncovering nature's hidden order. Theresulting associative network is powerfulenough to meet a troubling traditionalobjection to associationism: that it is toosimple an architecture to implement rationalprocesses.     

托吡酯对戊四氮点燃慢性癫(癎)大鼠海马神经细胞黏附分子的影响

目的:探讨神经元活化在癫发生、发展中的作用及托吡酯对其的影响。方法:采用戊四氮制备慢性癫模型,利用托吡酯干扰,选取不同时间点,观察大鼠行为学变化及神经细胞黏附分子在海马回的表达(免疫组织化学染色)。结果:托吡酯组点燃率在27d明显低于模型组;模型组及托吡酯组神经细胞黏附分子表达增加,并随时间延长明显;而不同时间点该表达的增加程度,托吡酯组均低于模型组。结论:神经细胞黏附分子表达的增加,说明出现了神经元活化及脑可塑性变化,而托吡酯明显地抑制了该表达的增加。     

突触可塑性在抗抑郁中的研究进展

抑郁症是一种以情绪低落为主要特征、兴趣缺失并常伴有自杀倾向的情感障碍性疾病,严重威胁人类健康和生活质量。由于抑郁症致病机制未完全阐明,抗抑郁药物的研发受到很大限制。现临床使用的抗抑郁药物因起效慢、副作用大等缺陷极大地限制了抑郁症的治疗。近年来,越来越多的研究表明,突触可塑性损伤与抑郁症的发生有着紧密的联系,改善突触可塑性有利于逆转抑郁症状及其伴随的认知功能下降。本文将综述突触可塑性对抑郁症发生的影响及其与脑源性神经营养因子、星形胶质细胞及小胶质细胞之间的关系。     

Targeting Aurora B kinase prevents and overcomes resistance to EGFR inhibitors in lung cancer by enhancing BIM- and PUMA-mediated apoptosis

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Suppression of GABA input by A1 adenosine receptor activation in rat cerebellar granule cells

Synaptic transmission has been shown to be modulated by purinergic receptors. In the cerebellum, spontaneous inhibitory input to Purkinje neurons is enhanced by ATP via P2 receptors, while evoked excitatory input via the granule cell parallel fibers is reduced by presynaptic P1 (A1) adenosine receptors. We have now studied the modulation of the complex GABAergic input to granule cells by the purinergic receptor agonists ATP and adenosine in acute rat cerebellar tissue slices using the whole-cell patch-clamp technique. Our experiments indicate that ATP and adenosine substantially reduce the bicuculline- and gabazine-sensitive GABAergic input to granule cells. Both phasic and tonic inhibitory components were reduced leading to an increased excitability of granule cells. The effect of ATP and adenosine could be blocked by 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine (DPCPX), but not by other P1 and P2 receptor antagonists, indicating that it was mediated by activation of A1 adenosine receptors. Our results suggest that, in the cerebellar network, A1 receptor activation, known to decrease the excitatory output of granule cells, also increases their excitability by reducing their complex GABAergic input. These findings extend our knowledge on purinergic receptors, mediating multiple modulations at both inhibitory and excitatory input and output sites in the cerebellar network.