Kumaresan (MPhil Scholar) reviewed the basics of Potassium channels in his seminar, covering the various approaches to classification, mode of action and also shared the deveresearch in this area.
Kumaresan (MPhil Scholar) presented the paper by Voss etal from BMC Neuroscience 2013 entitled "Assessment of the caudate nucleus and its relation to route learning in both congenital and late blind individuals"
ABSTRACT Background In the absence of visual input, the question arises as to how complex spatial abilities develop and how the brain adapts to the absence of this modality. As such, the aim of the current study was to investigate the relationship between visual status and an important brain structure with a well established role in spatial cognition and navigation, the caudate nucleus. We conducted a volumetric analysis of the caudate nucleus in congenitally and late blind individuals, as well as in matched sighted control subjects. Results No differences in the volume of the structure were found either between congenitally blind (CB) and matched sighted controls or between late blind (LB) and matched sighted controls. Moreover, contrary to what was expected, no significant correlation was found between caudate volume and performance in a spatial navigation task. Finally, consistent with previously published reports, the volume of the caudate nucleus was found to be negatively correlated with age in the sighted; however such correlations were not significant in the blind groups. Conclusion Although there were no group differences, the absence of an age-volume correlation in the blind suggests that visual deprivation may still have an effect on the developmental changes that occur in the caudate nucleus. Keywords: Blindness; Caudate nucleus; Spatial navigation; Volumetric MRI Pooja Shri Mishra (PhD Scholar) presented the paper by Kang etal from Nature Neuroscience March 2013 entitled "Degeneration and impaired regeneration of gray matter oligodendrocytes in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis"
ABSTRACT Oligodendrocytes associate with axons to establish myelin and provide metabolic support to neurons. In the spinal cord of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) mice, oligodendrocytes downregulate transporters that transfer glycolytic substrates to neurons and oligodendrocyte progenitors (NG2+ cells) exhibit enhanced proliferation and differentiation, although the cause of these changes in oligodendroglia is unknown. We found extensive degeneration of gray matter oligodendrocytes in the spinal cord of SOD1 (G93A) ALS mice prior to disease onset. Although new oligodendrocytes were formed, they failed to mature, resulting in progressive demyelination. Oligodendrocyte dysfunction was also prevalent in human ALS, as gray matter demyelination and reactive changes in NG2+ cells were observed in motor cortex and spinal cord of ALS patients. Selective removal of mutant SOD1 from oligodendroglia substantially delayed disease onset and prolonged survival in ALS mice, suggesting that ALS-linked genes enhance the vulnerability of motor neurons and accelerate disease by directly impairing the function of oligodendrocytes. NPhy at NIMHANS has its own facebook page now. From now on nphytimes blog posts will be available on facebook also.
Arun Sasidharan (PhD Scholar) presented the paper by Ford etal from the journal Schizophrenia Bulletin 2013 entitled "Did I Do That? Abnormal Predictive Processes in Schizophrenia When Button Pressing to Deliver a Tone "
ABSTRACT Motor actions are preceded by an efference copy of the motor command, resulting in a corollary discharge of the expected sensation in sensory cortex. These mechanisms allow animals to predict sensations, suppress responses to self-generated sensations, and thereby process sensations efficiently and economically. During talking, patients with schizophrenia show less evidence of pretalking activity and less suppression of the speech sound, consistent with dysfunction of efference copy and corollary discharge, respectively. We asked if patterns seen in talking would generalize to pressing a button to hear a tone, a paradigm translatable to less vocal animals. In 26 patients [23 schizophrenia, 3 schizoaffective (SZ)] and 22 healthy controls (HC), suppression of the N1 component of the auditory event–related potential was estimated by comparing N1 to tones delivered by button presses and N1 to those tones played back. The lateralized readiness potential (LRP) associated with the motor plan preceding presses to deliver tones was estimated by comparing right and left hemispheres’ neural activity. The relationship between N1 suppression and LRP amplitude was assessed. LRP preceding button presses to deliver tones was larger in HC than SZ, as was N1 suppression. LRP amplitude and N1 suppression were correlated in both groups, suggesting stronger efference copies are associated with stronger corollary discharges. SZ have reduced N1 suppression, reflecting corollary discharge action, and smaller LRPs preceding button presses to deliver tones, reflecting the efference copy of the motor plan. Effects seen during vocalization largely extend to other motor acts more translatable to lab animals. |
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