Vagal Intramuscular Arrays: The Specialized Mechanoreceptor Arbors That Innervate the Smooth Muscle Layers of the Stomach Examined in the Rat

The fundamental roles that the stomach plays in ingestion and digestion notwithstanding, little morphological information is available on vagal intramuscular arrays (IMAs), the afferents that innervate gastric smooth muscle. To characterize IMAs better, rats were given injections of dextran biotin in the nodose ganglia, and, after tracer transport, stomach whole mounts were collected. Specimens were processed for avidin–biotin permanent labeling, and subsets of the whole mounts were immunohistochemically processed for c‐Kit or stained with cuprolinic blue. IMAs (n = 184) were digitized for morphometry and mapping. Throughout the gastric muscle wall, IMAs possessed common phenotypic features. Each IMA was generated by a parent neurite arborizing extensively, forming an array of multiple (mean = 212) branches averaging 193 µm in length. These branches paralleled, and coursed in apposition with, bundles of muscle fibers and interstitial cells of Cajal. Individual arrays averaged 4.3 mm in length and innervated volumes of muscle sheet, presumptive receptive fields, averaging 0.1 mm³. Evaluated by region and by muscle sheet, IMAs displayed architectural adaptations to the different loci. A subset (32%) of circular muscle IMAs issued specialized polymorphic collaterals to myenteric ganglia, and a subset (41%) of antral longitudinal muscle IMAs formed specialized net endings associated with the serosal boundary. IMAs were concentrated in regional patterns that correlated with the unique biomechanical adaptations of the stomach, specifically proximal stomach reservoir functions and antral emptying operations. Overall, the structural adaptations and distributions of the IMAs were consonant with the hypothesized stretch receptor roles of the afferents. J. Comp. Neurol. 524:713–737, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A GABAergic tecto–tegmento–tectal pathway in pigeons

Previous studies have demonstrated that the optic tecta of the left and right brain halves reciprocally inhibit each other in birds. In mammals, the superior colliculus receives inhibitory γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic input from the basal ganglia via both the ipsilateral and the contralateral substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr). This contralateral SNr projection is important in intertectal inhibition. Because the basal ganglia are evolutionarily conserved, the tectal projections of the SNr may show a similar pattern in birds. Therefore, the SNr could be a relay station in an indirect tecto–tectal pathway constituting the neuronal substrate for the tecto–tectal inhibition. To test this hypothesis, we performed bilateral anterograde and retrograde tectal tracing combined with GABA immunohistochemistry in pigeons. Suprisingly, the SNr has only ipsilateral projections to the optic tectum, and these are non‐GABAergic. Inhibitory GABAergic input to the contralateral optic tectum arises instead from a nearby tegmental region that receives input from the ipsilateral optic tectum. Thus, a disynaptic pathway exists that possibly constitutes the anatomical substrate for the inhibitory tecto–tectal interaction. This pathway likely plays an important role in attentional switches between the laterally placed eyes of birds. J. Comp. Neurol. 524:2886–2913, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Prolonged corticosterone exposure induces dendritic spine remodeling and attrition in the rat medial prefrontal cortex

The stress‐responsive hypothalamo–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis plays a central role in promoting adaptations acutely, whereas adverse effects on physiology and behavior following chronic challenges may result from overactivity of this system. Elevations in glucocorticoids, the end‐products of HPA activation, play roles in adaptive and maladaptive processes by targeting cognate receptors throughout neurons in limbic cortical networks to alter synaptic functioning. Because previous work has shown that chronic stress leads to functionally relevant regressive alterations in dendritic spine shape and number in pyramidal neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), this study examines the capacity of sustained increases in circulating corticosterone (B) alone to alter dendritic spine morphology and density in this region. Subcutaneous B pellets were implanted in rats to provide continuous exposure to levels approximating the circadian mean or peak of the steroid for 1, 2, or 3 weeks. Pyramidal neurons in the prelimbic area of the mPFC were selected for intracellular fluorescent dye filling, followed by high‐resolution three‐dimensional imaging and analysis of dendritic arborization and spine morphometry. Two or more weeks of B exposure decreased dendritic spine volume in the mPFC, whereas higher dose exposure of the steroid resulted in apical dendritic retraction and spine loss in the same cell population, with thin spine subtypes showing the greatest degree of attrition. Finally, these structural alterations were noted to persist following a 3‐week washout period and corresponding restoration of circadian HPA rhythmicity. These studies suggest that prolonged disruptions in adrenocortical functioning may be sufficient to induce enduring regressive structural and functional alterations in the mPFC. J. Comp. Neurol. 524:3729–3746, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Developmental pattern of the neuronal intermediate filament inaa in the zebrafish retina

α‐Internexin is a member of the neuronal intermediate filament (nIF) protein family, which also includes peripherin and neurofilament (NF) triplet proteins. Previous studies found that expression of α‐internexin precedes that of the NF triplet proteins in mammals and suggested that α‐internexin plays a key role in the neuronal cytoskeleton network during development. In this study, we aimed to analyze the expression patterns and function of internexin neuronal intermediate filament protein‐alpha a (inaa), the encoding gene of which is a homolog of the mammalian α‐internexin, during retinal development in zebrafish. Via in vitro and in vivo studies, we demonstrated that zebrafish inaa is an α‐internexin homolog that shares characteristics with nIFs. An immunohistochemical analysis of zebrafish revealed that inaa was distributed dynamically in the developing retina. It was widely localized in retinal neuroepithelial cells at 1 day postfertilization (dpf), and was mainly found in the ganglion cell layer (GCL) and inner part of the inner nuclear layer (INL) from 3–9 dpf; after 14 dpf, it was restricted to the outer nuclear layer (ONL). Moreover, we demonstrated for the first time that inaa acted distinctively from the cytoskeletal scaffold of zebrafish cone photoreceptors during development. In conclusion, we demonstrated the morphological features of a novel nIF, inaa, and illustrated its developmental expression pattern in the zebrafish retina. J. Comp. Neurol. 524:3810–3826, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Polysialylation and lipopolysaccharide‐induced shedding of E‐selectin ligand‐1 and neuropilin‐2 by microglia and THP‐1 macrophages

Microglia are tissue macrophages and mediators of innate immune responses in the brain. The protein‐modifying glycan polysialic acid (polySia) is implicated in modulating microglia activity. Cultured murine microglia maintain a pool of Golgi‐confined polySia, which is depleted in response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐induced activation. Polysialylated neuropilin‐2 (polySia‐NRP2) contributes to this pool but further polySia protein carriers have remained elusive. Here, we use organotypic brain slice cultures to demonstrate that injury‐induced activation of microglia initiates Golgi‐confined polySia expression in situ. An unbiased glycoproteomic approach with stem cell‐derived microglia identifies E‐selectin ligand‐1 (ESL‐1) as a novel polySia acceptor. Together with polySia‐NRP2, polySia‐ESL‐1 is also detected in primary cultured microglia, in brain slice cultures and in phorbol ester‐induced THP‐1 macrophages. Induction of stem cell‐derived microglia, activated microglia in brain slice cultures and THP‐1 macrophages by LPS, but not interleukin‐4, causes polySia depletion and, as shown for stem cell‐derived microglia, a metalloproteinase‐dependent release of polySia‐ESL‐1 and polySia‐NRP2. Moreover, soluble polySia attenuates LPS‐induced production of nitric oxide and proinflammatory cytokines. Thus, shedding of polySia‐ESL‐1 and polySia‐NRP2 after LPS‐induced activation of microglia and THP‐1 macrophages may constitute a mechanism for negative feedback regulation. GLIA 2016 GLIA 2016;64:1314–1330     

Enhanced brain signal variability in children with autism spectrum disorder during early childhood

Extensive evidence shows that a core neurobiological mechanism of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) involves aberrant neural connectivity. Recent advances in the investigation of brain signal variability have yielded important information about neural network mechanisms. That information has been applied fruitfully to the assessment of aging and mental disorders. Multiscale entropy (MSE) analysis can characterize the complexity inherent in brain signal dynamics over multiple temporal scales in the dynamics of neural networks. For this investigation, we sought to characterize the magnetoencephalography (MEG) signal variability during free watching of videos without sound using MSE in 43 children with ASD and 72 typically developing controls (TD), emphasizing early childhood to older childhood: a critical period of neural network maturation. Results revealed an age‐related increase of brain signal variability in a specific timescale in TD children, whereas atypical age‐related alteration was observed in the ASD group. Additionally, enhanced brain signal variability was observed in children with ASD, and was confirmed particularly for younger children. In the ASD group, symptom severity was associated region‐specifically and timescale‐specifically with reduced brain signal variability. These results agree well with a recently reported theory of increased brain signal variability during development and aberrant neural connectivity in ASD, especially during early childhood. Results of this study suggest that MSE analytic method might serve as a useful approach for characterizing neurophysiological mechanisms of typical‐developing and its alterations in ASD through the detection of MEG signal variability at multiple timescales. Hum Brain Mapp 37:1038–1050, 2016. © 2015 The Authors Human Brain Mapping Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc .