Induction of striatal neurogenesis by the intraventricular administration of BDNF and

EGF promoted functional recovery in an adult animal model of neonatal HI brain injury. The effect of Ara-C to completely block functional recovery indicates that the effect may be the result of newly generated neurons. Therefore, this treatment may offer a promising strategy for the restoration of motor function for adults with cerebral palsy (CP). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of IBRO.”
“Antagonists selectively inhibiting activation of the nociceptin/orphanin FQ (N/OFQ) receptor reduce motor symptoms in experimental models of Parkinson’s disease, and genetic deletion of the ppN/OFQ gene offers partial protection of mid-brain dopamine neurons against the neurotoxin, 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP). MPTP increased ppN/OFQ mRNA expression in the substantia nigra (SN). We have Selleckchem Torin 1 DNA Synthesis inhibitor evaluated the

temporal relationship of dopamine cell loss to increased ppN/OFQ mRNA expression in the substantia nigra after MPTP treatment, and characterized the cellular locations in which increased ppN/OFQ mRNA expression was observed after MPTP treatment. MPTP increased by about 5-fold the number of neurons expressing ppN/OFQ mRNA in the pars reticulata of SN (SNr) by 24 h after treatment and the elevation remained significant for at least 7 days. This period coincided with the timing of the loss of dopamine neurons from the pars compacta of substantia nigra (SNc) after MPTP. The beta-catenin inhibitor increased expression of ppN/OFQ mRNA co-localized with a neuronal marker in the SNr. MPTP treatment resulted in a small increase in the numbers of neurons expressing ppN/OFQ in the SNc in mice from one mouse colony but the increase did not reach statistical significance in mice from another colony. No changes in ppN/OFQ-mRNA expression were observed in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), the caudate-putamen, the subthalamic nucleus, or in two other brains areas. These results demonstrate that increased N/OFQ expression in the SNr

is closely associated with the MPTP-induced loss of dopamine neurons in the SNc in a widely used animal model of Parkinson’s disease. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of IBRO.”
“Much of mental life consists in thinking about object concepts that are not currently within the scope of perception. The general system that enables multiple representations to be maintained and compared is referred to as “”working memory”" [Repov G, Baddeley A (2006) Neuroscience 139:5-21], and involves regions in medial and lateral parietal and frontal cortex [e.g., Smith EE, Jonides J (1999) Science 283:1657-1661]. It has been assumed that the contents of working memory index information in regions of the brain that are critical for processing and storing object knowledge.