Journal of Neuroscience Research最新文献

Homeobox transcription factor Engrailed1 (En1) is expressed in the ectoderm and mediates the establishment of retinotectal topography, but its role in eye-specific retinogeniculate segregation and visual function remains unclear. Parvalbumin (PV) neurons, which are widely distributed in the visual pathway, play a crucial role in visual development and function. In this study, we conditionally knocked out En1 gene in PV neurons and found an expansion of the ipsilateral eye projection, while no significant effects were observed in the contralateral eye projection. Additionally, we observed a decrease in the number of PV neurons in PV-Cre:En1^fl/fl mice, accompanied by an increased level of cleaved caspase-3 in PV neurons. Furthermore, the genetic ablation of PV neurons in the retina through intraocular AAV-DIO-Caspase3 injection in PV-Cre mice was sufficient to disrupt retinogeniculate segregation. Finally, we observed that PV-Cre:En1^fl/fl mice exhibited enhanced visual depth perception in the visual cliff test. These results demonstrate that En1 in PV neurons participates in eye-specific retinogeniculate segregation through cell survival and regulates binocular vision.

Anxiety and chronic pain afflict hundreds of millions worldwide. Anxiety and pain are more prevalent in females compared to males. Unfortunately, robust sex differences in human anxiety are not recapitulated in rodent tests, and results from rodent pain studies frequently fail to translate clinically. Therefore, there is a need to develop tests that reflect the differential salience of anxiety or pain-related stimuli between the sexes. Accordingly, here we introduce the Thermal Increments Dark–Light (TIDAL) conflict test. The TIDAL test places an anxiety-relevant stimulus (dark vs. illuminated chamber) in conflict with a heat-related stimulus (incrementally heated vs. isothermic chamber); mice freely explore both apparatus chambers. Here, we aim to determine whether the TIDAL conflict test reveals in mice underappreciated sex differences in anxiety and/or heat sensitivity. We establish in four distinct experiments that females on the TIDAL conflict test persist substantially longer on the dark-heated plate, suggesting that female mice exhibit elevated anxiety-like behavior. Mice more strongly prefer the heated-dark plate on the TIDAL conflict test compared to control thermal place preference with both chambers illuminated. We also reveal that an anxiety-relieving drug, paroxetine, reduces mouse preference for the heating dark plate, supporting the validity of the TIDAL test. Therefore, our new TIDAL conflict test reliably unmasks the relative salience of anxiety (vs. heat sensitivity): mice that are female exhibit robust anxiety-like behaviors not consistently observed in classical tests. Future studies should incorporate TIDAL and other conflict tests to better understand rodent behavior and to identify mechanisms underlying anxiety and pain.

Neurologic music therapy (NMT) represents a groundbreaking, interdisciplinary approach that combines the therapeutic properties of music with neuroscientific principles to treat a range of neurological and psychiatric conditions. This interdisciplinary approach, increasingly recognized in clinical and research settings, leverages advances in neuroimaging to explore how music affects the structure and activity of the brain. This review provides an in-depth exploration of the multifaceted effects of NMT on brain function, highlighting its role in promoting neuroplastic changes and enhancing cognitive, emotional and motor functions in diverse patient groups. This review consolidates current knowledge on NMT and provides insights into how music affects brain structure and function and the mechanisms of action. The article then discusses the application and research results of NMT in various diseases such as stroke, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Its potential in personalizing therapeutic interventions and its ability to improve treatment access and effectiveness in various settings are highlighted.

Structural vulnerability of the thalamus remains underinvestigated in mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), and few studies have addressed its constituent nuclei using robust segmentation methods. This study aimed to investigate thalamic subnuclei volume in the subacute period following mTBI. Trauma control (TC) and mTBI patients aged 18–60 years old completed a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocol including both high resolution structural (T1w) and diffusion-weighted sequences at 6–12 weeks following injury (mean: 57 days; SD 11). Each thalamus was segmented into its constituent subnuclei, which were grouped into eight lateralized subregions. Volumes of the subregions were calculated. Neurite Orientation Dispersion and Density (NODDI) maps with parameters optimized for gray matter were computed for the same subregions. Group differences in subregion volumes and NODDI parameters were investigated using Bayesian linear modeling, with age, sex, and estimated intracranial volume included as covariates. Comparisons of mTBI (n = 39) and TC (n = 28) groups revealed evidence of relatively increased gray matter volume in the mTBI group for the bilateral medial and right intralaminar subregions (BF₁₀ > 3). Of the subregions which showed volume differences, there was no evidence for differences in NODDI metrics between groups. This study demonstrates that in the subacute period following mTBI, there is evidence of increased volume in specific thalamic subregions. Putative mechanisms underpinning the increased volume observed here are disordered remyelination or myelin debris yet to be cleared.

The interaction between major depressive disorder (MDD) and overweight/obesity has received considerable attention owing to its widespread occurrence and the intricate biopsychological implications involved. Despite extensive research, the neural mechanisms underlying these comorbid conditions, particularly in terms of functional network connectivity (FNC), are still not well understood. This study aimed to clarify these mechanisms by utilizing resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) to examine both static and dynamic FNC. We analyzed data from 57 patients with both MDD and overweight/obesity (MDD-OW), 57 MDD patients of normal weight (MDD-NW), and 44 healthy controls, using techniques such as independent component analysis, sliding window analysis, K-means clustering, and graph theory. In contrast to static FNC, which showed no significant differences, dynamic FNC analysis identified four consistent states across all participants. Both MDD groups demonstrated reduced flexibility in functional coordination among these states and decreased nodal characteristics within the salience network. Notably, the MDD-OW group displayed enhanced dynamic FNC between the default mode network (DMN) and the executive control network (ECN) during certain states, which was inversely associated with the severity of depressive symptoms. These results highlight the importance of altered dynamic connectivity patterns in individuals with MDD and concurrent overweight/obesity, especially between the DMN and ECN, suggesting their potential utility as biomarkers for depressive states. This research contributes to our understanding of how comorbid overweight/obesity affects brain network dynamics in depressive disorders and provides a basis for targeted therapeutic strategies.

This study included 52 Japanese older adults with Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scores > 5 and 52 healthy controls (HCs) with PSQI score ≤ 5. Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and 3D T1-weighted imaging were acquired using 3T magnetic resonance imaging. The diffusion tensor image analysis along the perivascular space (DTI-ALPS) index was calculated using preprocessed DWI. The choroid plexus volume (CPV) was calculated using FreeSurfer 6.0. The mean ALPS index and CPV were compared between the older adults with poor sleep quality (PSQ) and HCs using a general linear model, adjusted for covariates including age, sex, years of education, total intracranial volume, systolic blood pressure, hemoglobin A1c, and white matter lesion volume. We also conducted a partial correlation analysis between the mean ALPS index and CPV, Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and PSQI scores, adjusting for all the mentioned covariates. The PSQ group had a significantly lower mean ALPS index than HCs. The mean ALPS index in the PSQ group was negatively correlated with CPV and positively correlated with the MoCA score. Therefore, older adults with PSQ may experience dysfunction in the excretory pathway of the perivascular space around the medullary veins. This impairment may be associated with an increase in CPV and cognitive dysfunction.