AIMS NeurosciencePub Date : 2022-04-21eCollection Date: 2022-01-01DOI: 10.3934/Neuroscience.2022010
Khue Vu Nguyen
{"title":"Encephalomalacia/gliosis, deep venous thrombosis, and cancer in Arg393His antithrombin Hanoi and the potential impact of the β-amyloid precursor protein (APP) on thrombosis and cancer.","authors":"Khue Vu Nguyen","doi":"10.3934/Neuroscience.2022010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3934/Neuroscience.2022010","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A heterozygous Arg393His point mutation at the reactive site of antithrombin (AT) gene causing thrombosis in a Vietnamese patient is reported and named as Arg393His in AT-Hanoi. The present variant is characterized by a severe reduction of functionally active AT plasma concentration to 42% of normal resulting in multiple severe thrombotic events such as cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) (encephalomalacia/gliosis), recurrent deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and the development of kidney cancer. Today the complexity of thrombophilia has grown with appreciation that multiple inherited and acquired risk factors may interact to result in a clinically thrombotic phenotype. This article focuses on the following issues: (1) pathophysiology and clinical conditions of Arg393His in AT-Hanoi; (2) \"two way association\" between cancer and thrombosis in which venous thromboembolism (VTE) can be both a presenting sign and a complication of cancer; (3) efficacy of anticoagulants used for the prevention of cancer-related thrombosis; (4) conditions of acquired risk factors such as cancer or genetic disorders via epigenetic modifications in gene-gene (epistasis) and/or gene-environment interactions such as in Lesch-Nyhan disease (LND), in which the β-amyloid precursor protein (APP) that may interact to predispose a patient to thrombosis and cancer. It is also necessary to study the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HGprt) enzyme, AT, and APP using expression vectors for exploring their impact on LND, thrombosis as well as other human diseases, especially the ones related to APP such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) and cancer. For such a purpose, the construction of expression vectors for HGprt and APP, with or without the glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor, was performed as described in Ref. #148 (Nguyen, K. V., Naviaux, R. K., Nyhan, W. L. Lesch-Nyhan disease: I. Construction of expression vectors for hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HGprt) enzyme and amyloid precursor protein (APP). <i>Nucleosides Nucleotides Nucleic Acids</i> 2020, 39: 905-922). In the same manner, the construction of expression vectors for AT and APP can be performed as shown in Figure 6. These expressions vectors, with or without GPI anchor, could be used as tools for (a) studying the effects of Arg393His mutation in AT; (b) studying the emerging role of Arg393His mutation in AT and cancer; (c) studying intermolecular interactions between APP and AT. Furthermore, the construction of expression vectors as described in Ref. #148, especially the one with GPI, can be used as a model for the construction of expression vectors for any protein targeting to the cell plasma membrane for studying intermolecular interactions and could be therefore useful in the vaccines as well as antiviral drugs development (studying intermolecular interactions between the spike glycoprotein of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, SARS-CoV-2, as well as its variants and t","PeriodicalId":7732,"journal":{"name":"AIMS Neuroscience","volume":"9 2","pages":"175-215"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2022-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9256524/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40526188","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AIMS NeurosciencePub Date : 2022-04-02eCollection Date: 2022-01-01DOI: 10.3934/Neuroscience.2022009
Blai Ferrer-Uris, Maria Angeles Ramos, Albert Busquets, Rosa Angulo-Barroso
{"title":"Can exercise shape your brain? A review of aerobic exercise effects on cognitive function and neuro-physiological underpinning mechanisms.","authors":"Blai Ferrer-Uris, Maria Angeles Ramos, Albert Busquets, Rosa Angulo-Barroso","doi":"10.3934/Neuroscience.2022009","DOIUrl":"10.3934/Neuroscience.2022009","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>It is widely accepted that physical exercise can be used as a tool for the prevention and treatment of various diseases or disorders. In addition, in the recent years, exercise has also been successfully used to enhance people's cognition. There is a large amount of research that has supported the benefits of physical exercise on human cognition, both in children and adults. Among these studies, some have focused on the acute or transitory effects of exercise on cognition, while others have focused on the effects of regular physical exercise. However, the relation between exercise and cognition is complex and we still have limited knowledge about the moderators and mechanisms underlying this relation. Most of human studies have focused on the behavioral aspects of exercise-effects on cognition, while animal studies have deepened in its possible neuro-physiological mechanisms. Even so, thanks to advances in neuroimaging techniques, there is a growing body of evidence that provides valuable information regarding these mechanisms in the human population. This review aims to analyze the effects of regular and acute aerobic exercise on cognition. The exercise-cognition relationship will be reviewed both from the behavioral perspective and from the neurophysiological mechanisms. The effects of exercise on animals, adult humans, and infant humans will be analyzed separately. Finally, physical exercise intervention programs aiming to increase cognitive performance in scholar and workplace environments will be reviewed.</p>","PeriodicalId":7732,"journal":{"name":"AIMS Neuroscience","volume":"9 2","pages":"150-174"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2022-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9256523/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40526190","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AIMS NeurosciencePub Date : 2022-03-16DOI: 10.3934/Neuroscience.2022008
C. Bhattarai, P. P. Poudel, A. Ghosh, S. Kalthur
{"title":"The RET gene encodes RET protein, which triggers intracellular signaling pathways for enteric neurogenesis, and RET mutation results in Hirschsprung's disease","authors":"C. Bhattarai, P. P. Poudel, A. Ghosh, S. Kalthur","doi":"10.3934/Neuroscience.2022008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3934/Neuroscience.2022008","url":null,"abstract":"Enteric neurons and ganglia are derived from vagal and sacral neural crest cells, which undergo migration from the neural tube to the gut wall. In the gut wall, they first undergo rostrocaudal migration followed by migration from the superficial to deep layers. After migration, they proliferate and differentiate into the enteric plexus. Expression of the Rearranged During Transfection (RET) gene and its protein RET plays a crucial role in the formation of enteric neurons. This review describes the molecular mechanism by which the RET gene and the RET protein influence the development of enteric neurons. Vagal neural crest cells give rise to enteric neurons and glia of the foregut and midgut while sacral neural crest cells give rise to neurons of the hindgut. Interaction of RET protein with its ligands (glial cell derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), neurturin (NRTN), and artemin (ARTN)) and its co-receptors (GDNF receptor alpha proteins (GFRα1-4)) activates the Phosphoinositide-3-kinase-protein kinase B (PI3K-PKB/AKT), RAS mitogen-activated protein kinase (RAS/MAPK) and phospholipase Cγ (PLCγ) signaling pathways, which control the survival, migration, proliferation, differentiation, and maturation of the vagal and sacral neural crest cells into enteric neurons. Abnormalities of the RET gene result in Hirschsprung's disease.","PeriodicalId":7732,"journal":{"name":"AIMS Neuroscience","volume":"9 1","pages":"128 - 149"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2022-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44718439","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AIMS NeurosciencePub Date : 2022-03-07eCollection Date: 2022-01-01DOI: 10.3934/Neuroscience.2022007
Ritwik Das, Artur Luczak
{"title":"Epileptic seizures and link to memory processes.","authors":"Ritwik Das, Artur Luczak","doi":"10.3934/Neuroscience.2022007","DOIUrl":"10.3934/Neuroscience.2022007","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Epileptogenesis is a complex and not well understood phenomenon. Here, we explore the hypothesis that epileptogenesis could be \"hijacking\" normal memory processes, and how this hypothesis may provide new directions for epilepsy treatment. First, we review similarities between the hypersynchronous circuits observed in epilepsy and memory consolidation processes involved in strengthening neuronal connections. Next, we describe the kindling model of seizures and its relation to long-term potentiation model of synaptic plasticity. We also examine how the strengthening of epileptic circuits is facilitated during the physiological slow wave sleep, similarly as episodic memories. Furthermore, we present studies showing that specific memories can directly trigger reflex seizures. The neuronal hypersynchrony in early stages of Alzheimer's disease, and the use of anti-epileptic drugs to improve the cognitive symptoms in this disease also suggests a connection between memory systems and epilepsy. Given the commonalities between memory processes and epilepsy, we propose that therapies for memory disorders might provide new avenues for treatment of epileptic patients.</p>","PeriodicalId":7732,"journal":{"name":"AIMS Neuroscience","volume":"9 1","pages":"114-127"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2022-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8941196/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49639532","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AIMS NeurosciencePub Date : 2022-02-28DOI: 10.3934/Neuroscience.2022006
Jhunlyn Lorenzo, S. Binczak, S. Jacquir
{"title":"A multilayer-multiplexer network processing scheme based on the dendritic integration in a single neuron","authors":"Jhunlyn Lorenzo, S. Binczak, S. Jacquir","doi":"10.3934/Neuroscience.2022006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3934/Neuroscience.2022006","url":null,"abstract":"Advances in neuronal studies suggest that a single neuron can perform integration functions previously associated only with neuronal networks. Here, we proposed a dendritic abstraction employing a dynamic thresholding function that models the spatiotemporal dendritic integration process of a CA3 pyramidal neuron. First, we developed an input-output quantification process that considers the natural neuronal response and the full range of dendritic dynamics. We analyzed the IO curves and demonstrated that dendritic integration is branch-specific and dynamic rather than the commonly employed static nonlinearity. Second, we completed the integration model by creating a dendritic abstraction incorporating the spatiotemporal characteristics of the dendrites. Furthermore, we predicted the dendritic activity in each dendritic layer and the corresponding somatic firing activity by employing the dendritic abstraction in a multilayer-multiplexer information processing scheme comparable to a neuronal network. The subthreshold activity influences the suprathreshold regions via its dynamic threshold, a parameter that is dependent not only on the driving force but also on the number of activated synapses along the dendritic branch. An individual dendritic branch performs multiple integration modes by shifting from supralinear to linear then to sublinear. The abstraction includes synaptic input location-dependent voltage delay and decay, time-dependent linear summation, and dynamic thresholding function. The proposed dendritic abstraction can be used to create multilayer-multiplexer neurons that consider the spatiotemporal properties of the dendrites and with greater computational capacity than the conventional schemes.","PeriodicalId":7732,"journal":{"name":"AIMS Neuroscience","volume":"9 1","pages":"76 - 113"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2022-02-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47408482","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AIMS NeurosciencePub Date : 2022-01-27DOI: 10.3934/Neuroscience.2022005
Nouhaila Chaoui, H. Anarghou, Meriem Laaroussi, Oumaima Essaidi, M. Najimi, F. Chigr
{"title":"Long lasting effect of acute restraint stress on behavior and brain anti-oxidative status","authors":"Nouhaila Chaoui, H. Anarghou, Meriem Laaroussi, Oumaima Essaidi, M. Najimi, F. Chigr","doi":"10.3934/Neuroscience.2022005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3934/Neuroscience.2022005","url":null,"abstract":"Exposure to certain acute stressors results in an immediate behavioral and physiological response to these situations during a significant period of days. The goal of the current study is to evaluate the long-lasting effect of single exposure of restraint stress among mice after 0 h, 24 h, 48 h and 72 h. Five groups of mice are under experiment: a control group and four groups exposed to one session of restraint stress. All these groups have been studied for behavioral tests in order to evaluate their memories. This is done through a Y-labyrinth and an object recognition test, and anxiety by using open field device. In the second part of the study, enzymatic assays (concerning catalase, glutathione s transferase, glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase) are used to evaluate oxidative stress. The enzymatic activity of the antioxidant system is assessed in five brain structures, including the cerebellum, olfactory bulb, spinal bulb, hypothalamus, and hippocampus. The obtained results show that acute restraint stress leads to a decrease in memory function and to the development of an anxious state; concomitant to an increase of locomotor activity afterword. It causes disturbance of antioxidant balance in the brain by developing a state of oxidative stress. Indeed, restraint stress causes a change in anti-oxidant stress enzymatic activity in the brain, notably in post-stress period. In conclusion, acute restraint stress is responsible for altering cognitive functions, especially memory, and the development of anxious behavior, which could be a result of the generation of oxidative stress; effects that are persistent over an important period after the cessation of stress.","PeriodicalId":7732,"journal":{"name":"AIMS Neuroscience","volume":"9 1","pages":"57 - 75"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2022-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48620713","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AIMS NeurosciencePub Date : 2022-01-18DOI: 10.3934/Neuroscience.2022003
Chang Hong Park, S. H. Lee
{"title":"Effect of lumbar epidural steroid injection on neuropathic pain: a prospective observational study","authors":"Chang Hong Park, S. H. Lee","doi":"10.3934/Neuroscience.2022003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3934/Neuroscience.2022003","url":null,"abstract":"Background Low back pain (LBP) is caused by disc herniation, spinal stenosis, facet syndrome or etc. This LBP could be either nociceptive or neuropathic pain (NP). In addition, these neuropathic pain is a major contributor to chronic low back pain. It is already known that lumbar epidural steroid injection (ESI) is effective for low back pain, but no study has assessed both nociceptive and neuropathic pain separately. This study investigated whether neuropathic or nociceptive pain was better improved after an epidural steroid injection. Methods This was a prospective study. Patients were classified according to the pre-procedure painDETECT questionnaire (PD-Q) score. If the PD-Q score was ≤12, it was considered as nociceptive pain, and it the PD-Q was ≥19, it was considered NP. The patients were given a transforaminal (TF) or interlaminar (IL) epidural steroid injection (ESI). The PD-Q was filled out by each patient prior to the ESI (baseline), and again at 4 weeks after the ESI. Outcomes was assessed using a numerical rating scale (NRS) score, short form McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ), and revised Oswestry Back Disability Index (ODI) at 1 month later. Results A total of 114 patients were enrolled and of these, 54 patients with a PD-Q score of ≤12 were classified into the nociceptive pain, and 60 patients with a PD-Q score ≥19 were classified into the neuropathic pain group. At 1 month after treatment, both groups had significantly lower than improved their mean NRS score. Not withstanding these improvements and difference between NRS, the differences in MPQ and ODI after treatment between the groups (nociceptive vs. neuropathic) not significant. After the procedure (TF-ESI or IL-ESI), the patients in group 1 (PD-Q score ≤12, n = 54) had no change in their PD-Q score. Among the patients in group 2 (pre-treatment PD-Q score ≥19, n = 41), 13 patients moved to a PD-Q score <12 and 15 patients had a PD-Q score of 13–18. Conclusion For the short-term relief of neuropathic pain, ESI was effective for both nociceptive and neuropathic pain, therefore ESI could be treat the try neuropathic pain component in patients with low back pain.","PeriodicalId":7732,"journal":{"name":"AIMS Neuroscience","volume":"9 1","pages":"24 - 30"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2022-01-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44042957","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AIMS NeurosciencePub Date : 2022-01-14DOI: 10.1101/2022.01.12.476116
M. Al-Amin, R. Sullivan, S. Alexander, D. A. Carter, D. Bradford, T. Burne
{"title":"Impaired spatial memory in adult vitamin D deficient BALB/c mice is associated with reductions in spine density, nitric oxide, and neural nitric oxide synthase in the hippocampus","authors":"M. Al-Amin, R. Sullivan, S. Alexander, D. A. Carter, D. Bradford, T. Burne","doi":"10.1101/2022.01.12.476116","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.01.12.476116","url":null,"abstract":"Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent in adults and is associated with cognitive impairment. However, the mechanism by which adult vitamin D (AVD) deficiency affects cognitive function remains unclear. We examined spatial memory impairment in AVD-deficient BALB/c mice and its underlying mechanism by measuring spine density, long term potentiation (LTP), nitric oxide (NO), neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) and endothelial NOS (eNOS) in the hippocampus. Adult male BALB/c mice were fed a control or vitamin D deficient diet for 20 weeks. Spatial memory performance was measured using an active place avoidance (APA) task, where AVD-deficient mice had reduced latency entering the shock zone compared to controls. We characterised hippocampal spine morphology in the CA1 and dentate gyrus (DG) and made electrophysiological recordings in the hippocampus of behaviourally naïve mice to measure LTP. We next measured NO, as well as glutathione, lipid peroxidation and oxidation of protein products and quantified hippocampal immunoreactivity for nNOS and eNOS. Spine morphology analysis revealed a significant reduction in the number of mushroom spines in the CA1 dendrites but not in the DG. There was no effect of diet on LTP. However, hippocampal NO levels were depleted whereas other oxidation markers were unaltered by AVD deficiency. We also showed a reduced nNOS, but not eNOS, immunoreactivity. Finally, vitamin D supplementation for 10 weeks to AVD-deficient mice restored nNOS immunoreactivity to that seen in in control mice. Our results suggest that lower levels of NO, reduced nNOS immunostaining contribute to hippocampal-dependent spatial learning deficits in AVD-deficient mice.","PeriodicalId":7732,"journal":{"name":"AIMS Neuroscience","volume":"9 1","pages":"31 - 56"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2022-01-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"62338982","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AIMS NeurosciencePub Date : 2022-01-01DOI: 10.3934/Neuroscience.2022025
C M Vicario, G Martino
{"title":"Psychology and technology: how Virtual Reality can boost psychotherapy and neurorehabilitation.","authors":"C M Vicario, G Martino","doi":"10.3934/Neuroscience.2022025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3934/Neuroscience.2022025","url":null,"abstract":"<jats:p xml:lang=\"fr\" />","PeriodicalId":7732,"journal":{"name":"AIMS Neuroscience","volume":"9 4","pages":"454-459"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9826745/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10553692","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}