Article
Neurosciences
Veronika Bodi, Timea Majer, Viktor Kelemen, Ildiko Vilagi, Attila Szucs, Petra Varro
Summary: ASD is considered as one of the main causes of neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by impairments in social interactions and repetitive behavior. Prenatal VPA treatment has diverse effects on hippocampal excitability depending on the sex and age of the animals, with differences in excitability observed in male and female rats of different age groups.
FRONTIERS IN NEURAL CIRCUITS
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Aniello Lombardi, Qiang Wang, Maik C. Stuettgen, Thomas Mittmann, Heiko J. Luhmann, Werner Kilb
Summary: This study investigates the role of short-term synaptic plasticity (STP) in excitatory and inhibitory synapses in the cortical layer 2/3 of mice. The results show that burst stimulation leads to short-term depression (STD) in both excitatory and inhibitory synapses, with stronger depression observed in inhibitory synapses and longer decay time.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Paolo Scalmani, Rosina Paterra, Massimo Mantegazza, Massimo Avoli, Marco de Curtis
Summary: Single-unit recordings in temporal lobe epilepsy patients and models of temporal lobe seizures showed that interneurons are active during focal seizure onset. This study performed simultaneous patch-clamp and field potential recordings in entorhinal cortex slices of mice to analyze the activity of specific interneuron (IN) subpopulations during acute seizure-like events (SLEs) induced by 4-aminopyridine (4-AP). The results revealed that entorhinal cortex INs are highly active at the onset and during the progression of 4-AP-induced SLEs.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Saishree Badrinarayanan, Frederic Manseau, Sylvain Williams, Mark P. Brandon
Summary: The study reveals varying gradients in electrophysiological and morphological properties of VIP cells in the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC), with differences across layers and along the dorsal-ventral MEC axis. These results characterize the cellular and morphological properties of VIP cells in the MEC.
FRONTIERS IN NEURAL CIRCUITS
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Robert Kim, Terrence J. Sejnowski
Summary: By analyzing computational models and neural data, the authors demonstrate that inhibitory-to-inhibitory signaling is crucial for maintaining stable temporal dynamics and working memory in the primate prefrontal cortex.
NATURE NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Inn-Chi Lee, Jiann-Jou Yang, Ying-Ming Liou, Swee-Hee Wong
Summary: KCNQ2 mutations can cause various neurodevelopmental disabilities, and SF mutations are critical for neurodevelopmental outcomes. This study found that p.Thr287Ile, p.Gly281Glu, and p.Pro285Thr mutations are pathogenic to KCNQ2 epileptic encephalopathy (EE), and a heavier mutated protein can affect Kv7.2 current and outcome in SF mutations.
Article
Neurosciences
Yuan Cheng, Binliang Tang, Guimin Zhang, Pengying An, Yutian Sun, Ming Gao, Yifan Zhang, Ye Shan, Jiping Zhang, Qiaoyun Liu, Cora Sau Wan Lai, Etienne de Villers-Sidani, Yunfeng Wang, Xiaoming Zhou
Summary: Hearing disorders, such as abnormal speech perception, are frequently reported in individuals with autism. This study used a rat model of prenatal exposure to VPA to investigate the mechanisms underlying these auditory-associated deficits. The results showed behavioral impairments and degradation in temporal information-processing in the primary auditory cortices of the exposed rats, suggesting a possible neurological mechanism underlying auditory and language-related deficits in individuals with autism.
Article
Neurosciences
Antoine D. Madar, Jesse A. Pfammatter, Jessica Bordenave, Erin I. Plumley, Swetha Ravi, Michael Cowie, Eli P. Wallace, Bruce P. Hermann, Rama K. Maganti, Mathew V. Jones
Summary: Temporal lobe epilepsy affects the function of the dentate gyrus, leading to impaired memory discrimination, which may be related to the abnormal bursting of a subset of granule cells.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Mang Gao, Sukbin Lim, Alexander A. Chubykin
Summary: Neural oscillations are crucial for information processing, communication between brain areas, learning, and memory. Familiar visual stimuli can induce 5-Hz oscillations in the primary visual cortex of awake mice. Visual experience affects the visual orientation and selectivity of V1 neurons, as well as membrane potential and firing rates.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Naoki Kogo, Felix B. Kern, Thomas Nowotny, Raymond van Ee, Richard van Wezel, Takeshi Aihara
Summary: In this study, a hybrid system was developed to construct a mutual inhibition circuit between two real-life pyramidal neurons, revealing bistable behavior when the neurons are simultaneously activated. By adding modeled synaptic noise and varying activation strength, the dynamics of the circuit were found to closely resemble the properties of bistable visual perception.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Stefano Varani, Dania Vecchia, Stefano Zucca, Angelo Forli, Tommaso Fellin
Summary: In the barrel field of rodent primary somatosensory cortex, excitatory cells in layer 2/3 display sparse firing but reliable subthreshold response during whisker stimulation. The canonical model suggests that layer 4 drives layer 2/3, but this study demonstrates that other regions also provide excitatory inputs to layer 2/3 during whisker stimulation.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Marton Rozsa, Martin Toth, Gaspar Olah, Judith Baka, Rajmund Lakovics, Pal Barzo, Gabor Tamas
Summary: Neural population activity determines the timing of synaptic inputs to cortical neurons. Action potential initiation in the axon initial segment (AIS) is driven by input integration, and the phase preference of AIS-APs during network oscillations is characteristic to cell classes. Experimental protocols can trigger retroaxonal action potentials (RA-APs) in distal regions of cortical axons.
Article
Neurosciences
Bo Xing, Nancy R. Mack, Yu-Xiang Zhang, Erin P. McEachern, Wen-Jun Gao
Summary: Neuronal activity in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) controls dominance hierarchies, and dopamine plays a key role through D1 and D2 receptors. D1R+ neurons determine dominance while D2R+ neurons determine subordination. The synaptic strengths of D1R+ neurons and neuronal excitability of D2R+ neurons are important factors in intermale social rank determination.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Noemi Binini, Francesca Talpo, Paolo Spaiardi, Claudia Maniezzi, Matteo Pedrazzoli, Francesca Raffin, Niccolo Mattiello, Antonio N. Castagno, Sergio Masetto, Yuchio Yanagawa, Clayton T. Dickson, Stefano Ramat, Mauro Toselli, Gerardo Rosario Biella
Summary: The perirhinal cortex (PRC) acts as a gateway between cortical areas and hippocampus, with its neurons being able to amplify output signals and coordinate network activity in the brain through resonance. This resonance ability is crucial for information transmission and memory enhancement between neocortex and hippocampus.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Claas Halfmann, Thomas Rueland, Frank Mueller, Kevin Jehasse, Bjoern M. Kampa
Summary: Retinal degeneration is a major cause of visual impairment and blindness. In this study, the researchers used a mouse model to investigate the changes in the visual cortex caused by retinitis pigmentosa, a type of retinal degenerative disease. They found that there was an increase in intrinsic excitability and current amplitude of inhibitory events in the visual cortex after retinal degeneration. However, there was no long-lasting shift in excitability. These findings suggest that the visual cortex remains intact and holds promise for future therapeutic strategies to restore vision.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Robert A. Morrison, Tanya T. Danaphongse, David T. Pruitt, Katherine S. Adcock, Jobin K. Mathew, Stephanie T. Abe, Dina M. Abdulla, Robert L. Rennaker, Michael P. Kilgard, Seth A. Hays
BEHAVIOURAL BRAIN RESEARCH
(2020)
Article
Neurosciences
Zachary T. McEachin, Tania F. Gendron, Nisha Raj, Maria Garcia-Murias, Anwesha Banerjee, Ryan H. Purcell, Patricia J. Ward, Tiffany W. Todd, Megan E. Merritt-Garza, Karen Jansen-West, Chadwick M. Hales, Tania Garcia-Sobrino, Beatriz Quintans, Christopher J. Holler, Georgia Taylor, Beatriz San Millan, Susana Teijeira, Toru Yamashita, Ryuichi Ohkubo, Nicholas M. Boulis, Chongchong Xu, Zhexing Wen, Nathalie Streichenberger, Brent L. Fogel, Thomas Kukar, Koji Abe, Dennis W. Dickson, Manuel Arias, Jonathan D. Glass, Jie Jiang, Malu G. Tansey, Maria-Jesus Sobrido, Leonard Petrucelli, Wilfried Rossoll, Gary J. Bassell
Article
Clinical Neurology
Rimenez R. Souza, Nicole M. Robertson, Ezek Mathew, Michel N. Tabet, Jesse E. Bucksot, David T. Pruitt, Robert L. Rennaker, Seth A. Hays, Christa K. McIntyre, Michael P. Kilgard
PROGRESS IN NEURO-PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY & BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY
(2020)
Article
Clinical Neurology
David T. Pruitt, Tanya T. Danaphongse, Megan Lutchman, Nishi Patel, Priyanka Reddy, Vanesse Wang, Anjana Parashar, Robert L. Rennaker, Michael P. Kilgard, Seth A. Hays
Summary: The study found that moderate-intensity VNS paired with rehabilitation training maximizes recovery of motor function in models of ischemic stroke. VNS at 0.8 mA was beneficial for functional recovery, while VNS at 0.4 mA and 1.6 mA were not sufficient to improve recovery compared to equivalent rehabilitation without VNS.
TRANSLATIONAL STROKE RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Michael J. Darrow, Tabarak M. Mian, Miranda Torres, Zainab Haider, Tanya Danaphongse, Armin Seyedahmadi, Robert L. Rennaker, Seth A. Hays, Michael P. Kilgard
Summary: Combining VNS with tactile rehabilitation significantly improves the recovery of somatosensory and motor function after neurological injury. The specific components of the tactile rehabilitation paired with VNS play a crucial role in determining the degree of recovery.
BEHAVIOURAL BRAIN RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Robert A. Morrison, Tanya T. Danaphongse, Stephanie T. Abe, Madison E. Stevens, Vikram Ezhil, Armin Seyedahmadi, Katherine S. Adcock, Robert L. Rennaker, Michael P. Kilgard, Seth A. Hays
Summary: The study found that moderate intensity VNS can enhance motor cortex plasticity in rats, while replacing half of moderate intensity stimulation with high intensity VNS can block this enhancement, and reinstating plasticity can be achieved by removing high intensity stimulation and using only 50 pairings of moderate intensity VNS.
Article
Neurosciences
Rimenez R. Souza, Nicole M. Robertson, Christa K. McIntyre, Robert L. Rennaker, Seth A. Hays, Michael P. Kilgard
Summary: Studies in rodents show that a specific range of VNS intensities enhances extinction learning and reduces conditioned fear. The intensity of 0.8 mA VNS has shown significant effects in pairing with extinction training, suggesting it may be the optimal choice for using VNS as an adjuvant in exposure therapies for PTSD.
EXPERIMENTAL NEUROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Rimenez R. Souza, Cecily R. Oleksiak, Michel N. Tabet, Robert L. Rennaker, Seth A. Hays, Michael P. Kilgard, Christa K. McIntyre
Summary: The study found that vagus nerve stimulation can enhance extinction of olfactory fear and promote extinction generalization across different sensory modalities. These results suggest potential for improving outcomes of exposure-based therapies.
NEUROBIOLOGY OF LEARNING AND MEMORY
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Jesse E. Bucksot, Collin R. Chandler, Navaporn M. Intharuck, Robert L. Rennaker, Michael P. Kilgard, Seth A. Hays
Summary: Peripheral nerve stimulation is an effective treatment for neurological disorders, with computational modeling proving to be a useful tool for estimating stimulation thresholds and optimizing electrode design. Access to specialized software limits the utility of current tools, highlighting the need for a simpler, more accessible solution.
JOURNAL OF NEURAL ENGINEERING
(2021)
Review
Neurosciences
Robert A. Morrison, Seth A. Hays, Michael P. Kilgard
Summary: Stroke often results in lasting orofacial impairments, and while speech therapy can improve function, many patients only see modest improvements. The combination of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) with traditional speech therapy holds promise in enhancing recovery of speech motor function post-stroke. Further research and development are needed to establish and optimize this approach for individuals with motor speech disorders.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Robert A. Morrison, Stephanie T. Abe, Tanya Danaphongse, Vikram Ezhil, Armaan Somaney, Katherine S. Adcock, Robert L. Rennaker, Michael P. Kilgard, Seth A. Hays
Summary: Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) enhances synaptic plasticity during motor rehabilitation, and common pharmaceuticals at clinically relevant doses are unlikely to negatively impact the efficacy of VNS therapy.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Katherine S. Adcock, Tanya Danaphongse, Sarah Jacob, Harshini Rallapalli, Miranda Torres, Zainab Haider, Armin Seyedahmadi, Robert A. Morrison, Robert L. Rennaker, Michael P. Kilgard, Seth A. Hays
Summary: VNS therapy fails to improve somatosensory or motor function recovery in the forelimb after radial nerve injury, indicating that pain may limit the efficacy of this treatment.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Rimenez R. Souza, Mark B. Powers, Robert L. Rennaker, Christa K. McIntyre, Seth A. Hays, Michael P. Kilgard
Summary: Studies have shown that vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) enhances extinction learning in rodent models. Pairing VNS with the conditioned stimulus or delivering continuous stimulation throughout extinction can promote the greatest reduction in conditioned fear.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Health Policy & Services
David T. Pruitt, Y. -Nhy Duong-Nguyen, Eric C. Meyers, Joseph D. Epperson, Joel M. Wright, Rachael A. Hudson, Jane G. Wigginton, Robert L. L. Rennaker, Seth A. Hays, Michael P. Kilgard
Summary: Stroke is a leading cause of chronic motor disability, but patients often face barriers in accessing optimal rehabilitative care. To address this, a system called RePlay was developed to facilitate at-home rehabilitative exercises in a gameplay environment using consumer technology. A feasibility study found that RePlay has the potential to increase engagement in rehabilitative exercises and improve overall patient outcomes.
GAMES FOR HEALTH JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Katherine S. Adcock, Daniel R. Hulsey, Tanya Danaphongse, Zainab Haider, Robert A. Morrison, Michael P. Kilgard, Seth A. Hays
Summary: Peripheral nerve injury, particularly damage to the radial nerve, results in long-lasting sensory and motor dysfunction, with accompanying abnormal cortical activity in the somatosensory and motor cortex. This study provides a novel characterization of functional deficits post-radial nerve injury, offering insights for future interventions.