Brain Research最新文献

{"title":"AMPK mediates the anti-ferroptosis effect of acupuncture in cerebral ischemia–reperfusion rats","authors":"Rong Wang ,&nbsp;Jun-feng Xu","doi":"10.1016/j.brainres.2025.149662","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.brainres.2025.149662","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Acupuncture is clinically effective in the treatment of ischemic stroke. The report suggests that energy stress inhibits ferroptosis in part through AMPK. However, whether the effect of activating AMPK is related to ferroptosis in ischemic stroke and whether acupuncture can achieve neuroprotection against ischemic brain injury through the pathway of inhibiting ferroptosis by activating AMPK has not been confirmed.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>In this experiment, all rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: Sham group, MCAO/R group, MA (MCAO/R + acupuncture) group, and MAM (MCAO/R + acupuncture + metformin) group. The middle cerebral artery occlusion/reperfusion injury (MCAO/R) model was created by the wire embolism method, and the MA and MAM groups received acupuncture treatment with electrotherapy (1 mA, 2/15 Hz, 20 min each), while the MAM group continued to receive metformin (oral gavage 200 mg/kg) after successful modelling. Neurological deficit score and infarct volume were measured, Prussian blue staining and mitochondrial structural changes were observed, and Fe2+ and MDA levels were determined in the brain tissue of the rats. Western blot results were analyzed to determine differences in the expression of TFR1, SLC7A11, GPX4 and AMPK、p-AMPK proteins in order to explore the possible pathological processes involved in cerebral ischemia at behavioral, histological and molecular levels and the possible protective mechanisms of acupuncture.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Acupuncture attenuated ischemia–reperfusion-induced brain damage and mitochondrial damage. Further studies showed that acupuncture reduced the levels of Fe2+, MDA and the expression of TFR1 protein and increased the expression of SLC7A11 and GPX4 protein in the diseased hippocampal region of MCAO/R rats. In addition, metformin, as an AMPK activator, significantly enhanced the protective effect of acupuncture on cerebral ischemic injury and enhanced the acupuncture-mediated reduction of Fe2+, MDA levels and TFR1 protein expression and the increase of SLC7A11 and GPX4 protein expression in the lesioned hippocampal region of MCAO/R rats.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>These findings suggest that acupuncture can inhibit ferroptosis and thus exert a protective effect against ischemic brain injury, and that this mechanism may be achieved by activating AMPK. This extends the mechanism of action of acupuncture in the treatment of ischemic stroke.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":9083,"journal":{"name":"Brain Research","volume":"1860 ","pages":"Article 149662"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143901901","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The correlation between center of pressure and cerebral cortex activation characteristics in patients with stroke: A functional near-infrared spectroscopy study","authors":"Jue Liu ,&nbsp;Yifei Xia ,&nbsp;Qun Zhang ,&nbsp;Xinwei Tang ,&nbsp;Ruiping Hu ,&nbsp;Yulian Zhu","doi":"10.1016/j.brainres.2025.149648","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.brainres.2025.149648","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Balance impairment is common among patients with hemiplegia after stroke, yet the relationship between standing balance and cerebral cortex activation under eyes-open and eyes-closed conditions remains unclear. This study aims to explore these correlations to guide targeted neural regulation. Thirty-one stroke patients from Huashan Hospital, Fudan University (2021–2022), were assessed for the sway of center of pressure (COP) under the aforementioned conditions. Brain activation coefficient <em>β</em> value was measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Pearson’s correlation analysis showed that during standing with eyes open, the right pre-motor cortex (PMC) and supplementary motor area (SMA) was moderately correlated with short-time dispersion degree of the COP movement area (r = 0.56, <em>P</em> = 0.001), long-time dispersion of the COP velocity (r = 0.57, <em>P</em> &lt; 0.001), medial–lateral-acceleration of the COP (r = 0.63, <em>P</em> &lt; 0.001), medial–lateral-speed of the COP (r = 0.63, <em>P</em> &lt; 0.001), and the Score (r = 0.56, <em>P</em> = 0.001). Significant correlations with medial–lateral-speed of the COP were also found in the bilateral PMC, SMA, the left prefrontal eye movement and the left primary motor cortex (r = 0.48–0.56, all <em>P</em> &lt; 0.01). Paired-samples t-tests showed significant differences in almost all COP variables between eyes-open and eyes-closed conditions (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05), but no significant differences in in the mean cerebral cortex activation across all channels. Our findings indicate that the channel with the strongest representation of the motor area of the affected hemisphere may be an important regulatory target for balance disorders.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":9083,"journal":{"name":"Brain Research","volume":"1860 ","pages":"Article 149648"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143904525","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"NRXN3-NLGN1 complex influences the development of depression induced by maternal separation in rats","authors":"Yuru Rong ,&nbsp;Wanyue Yan ,&nbsp;Zheng Gao ,&nbsp;Yujing Yang ,&nbsp;Chengyun Xu ,&nbsp;Caiyi Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.brainres.2025.149659","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.brainres.2025.149659","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Early-life stress (ELS) increases the risk of major depressive disorder in children and adolescents. However, the molecular and cellular mechanisms of major depressive disorder (MDD) induced by ELS are poorly understood. Here, we establish a stress model in rats in which maternal separation stress (MS) during the postnatal period increases susceptibility to restraint stress (RS) later in life. In terms of mechanism, MS causes long-lasting synaptic plasticity alterations in rats, which is accompanied by reduced branch and spine lengths in the hippocampus. We identified the role of the cell adhesion factor neurexin 3 (NRXN3) and its ligand neuroligin 1 (NLGN1) as mediators of these effects. NRXN3 and NLGN1 downregulation in the hippocampus occurred prior to the observed synaptic changes and depression-related behaviors. In conclusion, NRXN3 is involved in the development of depression induced by maternal separation, and the specific mechanism involves the NRXN3-NLGN1 complex, which can mediate synaptic plasticity and increase susceptibility to<!--> <!-->depression.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":9083,"journal":{"name":"Brain Research","volume":"1858 ","pages":"Article 149659"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143877183","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Systematic review of optimizing brain-targeted vitamin D delivery: Novel approaches to enhance mental illness therapeutics","authors":"Jinghu He ,&nbsp;Zhiyuan Gao ,&nbsp;Xilian Li ,&nbsp;Long Zhao ,&nbsp;Xue Tian ,&nbsp;Biao Gao","doi":"10.1016/j.brainres.2025.149656","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.brainres.2025.149656","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Vitamin D is increasingly recognized for its neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory roles in mental health. However, its delivery to the central nervous system remains constrained by various factors.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>This systematic review evaluates strategies for optimizing brain-targeted vitamin D delivery, highlighting molecular, physiological, and technological approaches to enhance its efficacy in mental disorders.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Following PRISMA guidelines, a comprehensive search across PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Embase, and PsycINFO was conducted. Relevant studies were assessed thematically, focusing on BBB transport mechanisms, nanocarriers, structural modifications, and transporter-mediated delivery.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Strategies including nanotechnology, biotin-based transporter targeting (e.g., SMVT/SLC5A6), DBP–Megalin/Cubilin-mediated transcytosis, and intranasal administration show promise in enhancing vitamin D brain uptake. Differences between serum and brain vitamin D concentrations, genomic and non-genomic VDR pathways, and psychiatric disorder-specific associations (e.g., depression, schizophrenia, ASD) were also examined.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Although limited by the scarcity of large-scale clinical data, emerging strategies demonstrate significant potential in enhancing brain-targeted vitamin D delivery. These findings lay a foundation for future translational research aimed at precision mental health interventions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":9083,"journal":{"name":"Brain Research","volume":"1858 ","pages":"Article 149656"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143877184","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Early body representation EEG signals in cervical vs. thoracic spinal cord injuries with neuropathic pain","authors":"Scott Ian Frank ,&nbsp;Ramanamurthy V. Mylavarapu ,&nbsp;Eva Widerstrom-Noga ,&nbsp;Roberta Vastano","doi":"10.1016/j.brainres.2025.149658","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.brainres.2025.149658","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Spinal cord injury (SCI) not only causes severe sensorimotor impairments but also leads to disruptions in body representation, including body schema. While the neurological differences between cervical and thoracic injuries are well established, the impact of the level of injury on body schema is less understood. Deeper insights into how change in body schema is affected by injury severity may further individual rehabilitation strategies and outcomes for individuals with SCI. This study explores event-related potentials (ERPs) between individuals with cervical and thoracic injuries in response to body-related and non-body-related stimuli presented in two rotation angles (easy: 75° and difficult: 150°) while completing a laterality judgment task. Individuals with cervical injury showed reduced amplitudes of posterior P100 and anterior N100 compared to the thoracic group only when the body-related stimuli were presented in a difficult rotation angle. We discuss that the variations in early modulation of ERPs can be attributed to the underlying sensorimotor challenges associated with different levels of injury. This work enhances our understanding of cognitive processing in SCI populations to better inform rehabilitation strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":9083,"journal":{"name":"Brain Research","volume":"1858 ","pages":"Article 149658"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143877185","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Peripheral lymphocyte counts and regional cerebral blood flow on brain SPECT correlate in Alzheimer’s disease: A retrospective cross-sectional study","authors":"Hidehito Miyazaki ,&nbsp;Keiko Ide ,&nbsp;Hiroyuki Yamaguchi ,&nbsp;Matsuyoshi Ogawa ,&nbsp;Naoya Aoki ,&nbsp;Omi Katsuse ,&nbsp;Toshinari Odawara ,&nbsp;Takeshi Asami","doi":"10.1016/j.brainres.2025.149657","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.brainres.2025.149657","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Given emerging evidence of immune involvement in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), we aimed to clarify whether peripheral lymphocyte counts are associated with regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) as measured by brain single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Identifying such a relationship may help to establish early, accessible biomarkers of disease progression.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Participants were 111 patients diagnosed with AD at the Yokohama City University Hospital Medical Center for Dementia Diseases between January 2021 and December 2023 and who underwent blood tests and brain SPECT. Sex, age, cognitive function tests, peripheral blood values, and rCBF on brain SPECT were investigated retrospectively. Neutrophil and lymphocyte counts were extracted from blood values. In addition, the rCBF in each region (frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital, and limbic system) was calculated from brain SPECT, and correlation analysis between lymphocytes and rCBF was performed.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Significant positive correlations between lymphocyte counts in peripheral blood and rCBF were found in all regions except the left frontal lobe. In particular, the correlation coefficient between rCBF and lymphocyte count was highest in the right temporal lobe (ρ = 0.311, <em>P</em> = 0.001).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Peripheral blood lymphocyte counts are positively related to rCBF on brain SPECT, and lymphocytes can be an early biomarker that can be tested inexpensively and easily. Limitations include the retrospective cross-sectional design and single-center setting, which preclude analysis of causality and changes over time.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":9083,"journal":{"name":"Brain Research","volume":"1859 ","pages":"Article 149657"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143876935","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The neuroplastic brain: current breakthroughs and emerging frontiers","authors":"Parisa Gazerani","doi":"10.1016/j.brainres.2025.149643","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.brainres.2025.149643","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Neuroplasticity, the brain’s capacity to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections, is central to modern neuroscience. Once believed to occur only during early development, research now shows that plasticity continues throughout the lifespan, supporting learning, memory, and recovery from injury or disease. Substantial progress has been made in understanding the mechanisms underlying neuroplasticity and their therapeutic applications. This overview article examines synaptic plasticity, structural remodeling, neurogenesis, and functional reorganization, highlighting both adaptive (beneficial) and maladaptive (harmful) processes across different life stages. Recent strategies to harness neuroplasticity, ranging from pharmacological agents and lifestyle interventions to cutting-edge technologies like brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) and targeted neuromodulation are evaluated in light of current empirical evidence. Contradictory findings in the literature are addressed, and methodological limitations that hamper widespread clinical adoption are discussed. The ethical and societal implications of deploying novel neuroplasticity-based interventions, including issues of equitable access, data privacy, and the blurred line between treatment and enhancement, are then explored in a structured manner. By integrating mechanistic insights, empirical data, and ethical considerations, the aim is to provide a comprehensive and balanced perspective for researchers, clinicians, and policymakers working to optimize brain health across diverse populations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":9083,"journal":{"name":"Brain Research","volume":"1858 ","pages":"Article 149643"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143898950","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Knockout of 5-HT7 receptor in the mouse mildly modifies the structure and function of dorsal raphe neurons","authors":"Agnieszka Kania ,&nbsp;Michał Kiełbiński ,&nbsp;Marcin Siwiec ,&nbsp;Grzegorz Hess","doi":"10.1016/j.brainres.2025.149655","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.brainres.2025.149655","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The serotonin (5-HT) type 7 receptor (5-HT7R) mediates numerous physiological actions of 5-HT in the brain. Mice with a targeted disruption of the 5-HT7R-coding gene are characterized by an altered behavioral phenotype. Modifications of the serotonergic modulation of brain development and of the activity of the 5-HT system in adulthood that are related to ablation of functional 5-HT7Rs might, potentially, underlie the behavioral phenotype described in the literature. The present study was aimed at finding the consequences of 5-HT7R deficiency for the structure and function of single 5-HT neurons of the midline region of the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN). It was found that while the amplitude of spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents recorded from tryptophan hydroxylase-immunoreactive DRN neurons was elevated in 5-HT7R-deficient animals, the excitability of these cells was mildly reduced. A lack of 5-HT7Rs was accompanied by a minor modification of DRN 5-HT neuron morphology. Our findings support the hypothesis that ablation of the 5-HT7R results in an alteration of the function of mouse DRN projection neurons. Further experiments are needed to fully elucidate the effects of the knockout of the 5-HT7R coding gene on the brain 5-HT system.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":9083,"journal":{"name":"Brain Research","volume":"1859 ","pages":"Article 149655"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143869184","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Does masking alter the mismatch negativity response to gaps?","authors":"Victoria Duda ,&nbsp;Thomas M.D. Augereau ,&nbsp;Kenneth Campbell ,&nbsp;Amineh Koravand","doi":"10.1016/j.brainres.2025.149651","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.brainres.2025.149651","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div>Difficulties perceiving speech in noise can be studied using temporal resolution measures. This study investigates the processing of silent gaps in the central auditory system in various noise conditions.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Event-related potentials and psychoacoustic thresholds were measured in 14 normal hearing adult subjects. A multi-deviant paradigm was used to present an 80 <!--> <!-->dB SPL standard stimulus and a series of gapped deviants with gap durations ranging from 2 to 40 <!--> <!-->ms. The stimuli were presented in three noise conditions in which the noise (i.e. the masker) was either absent, presented at a low intensity (60 <!--> <!-->dB SPL) or high intensity (80 <!--> <!-->dB SPL). A composite N1 + mismatch negativity called a deviant-related negativity (DRN) and the following positive component (P2) measured peak-to-peak were compared to behavioral accuracy rates.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The amplitude of the DRN-P2 increased as gap duration increased in the no and low masking conditions. However, this was not the case in the high masking condition. Behavioral gap detection correlated with all masking conditions. However, with high intensity masking, the gap detection accuracy was reduced, and the peak-to-peak measurement was no longer able to reliably code the temporal aspects of the signal.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>This study demonstrates that high masking noise make the detection of gaps very difficult as demonstrated by using electrophysiology and behavioural measures. However, low levels of masking have little effect on the presence of the gap and the auditory system appears to withstand some level of noise with results similar to no masking at all.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":9083,"journal":{"name":"Brain Research","volume":"1859 ","pages":"Article 149651"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143888050","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A novel mechanism for short-term post-tetanic plasticity in thalamocortical neurons","authors":"Kathleen R. Louis-Gray,&nbsp;Joseph A. Beatty,&nbsp;Charles L. Cox","doi":"10.1016/j.brainres.2025.149654","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.brainres.2025.149654","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Information transfer through the thalamus is a dynamic process, which can be influenced by multiple factors within the thalamocortical circuit. Activity-dependent changes in neuronal excitability and synaptic efficacy can impact both short- and long-term processing through the thalamocortical circuit. In these experiments, we investigate the mechanism of a novel form of post-tetanic synaptic plasticity, induced by tetanic stimulation of excitatory afferents onto thalamocortical neurons. We show that tetanic activation of excitatory afferents produces a short-lasting (10–15 min) facilitation of excitatory postsynaptic currents in ventrobasal thalamocortical neurons. This potentiation is mediated by a calcium-dependent, presynaptic mechanism. This potentiation is partly due to the activation of adenylyl cyclase and involves alteration in the hyperpolarization-activated mixed cation current, I_h. This activity-dependent facilitation of excitatory synaptic transmission provides a mechanism through which prolonged excitatory enhancement may impact sensory processing through thalamocortical circuits.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":9083,"journal":{"name":"Brain Research","volume":"1859 ","pages":"Article 149654"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143869183","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}