Different effects of postnatal day 1 versus 7 192 immunoglobulin G-saporin lesions on learning, exploratory behaviors, and neurochemistry in juvenile rats.

Passive avoidance learning and retention, as well as locomotor and exploratory behaviors, were assessed in rats after intraventricular 192 immunoglobulin G-saporin injections on either Postnatal Day 1 (PND1) or PND7. PND1-lesioned rats were not significantly impaired on acquisition or retention of passive avoidance. PND7-lesioned rats acquired the task slower than controls, but retention was not affected. PND7-lesioned rats were less exploratory than controls and showed reduced wall rearing. Histological analysis of PND1- and PND7-lesioned rats revealed no neuronal degeneration in hippocampus or cortex. There was a marked reduction of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activity in the hippocampus, cortex, and septum in the PND7-lesioned rats and a slight but significant ChAT depletion in the cortex of PND1-lesioned rats. These data suggest that the cholinergic system is critical for the learning of passive avoidance and exploratory behavior in the developing rat. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Information storage based on photochemical effects in mixed Langmuir–Blodgett films

Mixed Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) films of two novel thiophene-spaced N-alkylpyridinium malononitrile zwitterionic dyes have been prepared. The LB films present two sharp, non-overlapping charge-transfer absorption bands which can be selectively photobleached in a irreversible fashion. The former could have potential application in multifrequency optical data storage.     

Treatment with the Bacterial Toxin CNF1 Selectively Rescues Cognitive and Brain Mitochondrial Deficits in a Female Mouse Model of Rett Syndrome Carrying a MeCP2-Null Mutation

Rett syndrome (RTT) is a rare neurological disorder caused by mutations in the X-linked MECP2 gene and a major cause of intellectual disability in females. No cure exists for RTT. We previously reported that the behavioural phenotype and brain mitochondria dysfunction are widely rescued by a single intracerebroventricular injection of the bacterial toxin CNF1 in a RTT mouse model carrying a truncating mutation of the MeCP2 gene (MeCP2-308 mice). Given the heterogeneity of MECP2 mutations in RTT patients, we tested the CNF1 therapeutic efficacy in a mouse model carrying a null mutation (MeCP2-Bird mice). CNF1 selectively rescued cognitive defects, without improving other RTT-related behavioural alterations, and restored brain mitochondrial respiratory chain complex activity in MeCP2-Bird mice. To shed light on the molecular mechanisms underlying the differential CNF1 effects on the behavioural phenotype, we compared treatment effects on relevant signalling cascades in the brain of the two RTT models. CNF1 provided a significant boost of the mTOR activation in MeCP2-308 hippocampus, which was not observed in the MeCP2-Bird model, possibly explaining the differential effects of CNF1. These results demonstrate that CNF1 efficacy depends on the mutation beared by MeCP2-mutated mice, stressing the need of testing potential therapeutic approaches across RTT models.     

Postnatal choline supplementation in preweanling mice: Sexually dimorphic behavioral and neurochemical effects.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of postnatal choline supplementation on neurochemical and behavioral parameters in preweanling BALB/cByJ mice. Mouse pups were injected daily subcutaneously with choline chloride (0.85 mM/g body weight) from Postnatal Day (PND) 1 to PND 16. Pups performed a passive avoidance (PA) learning task on PND 17-18 and a 30-min locomotor activity test on PND 19. The choline treatment affected retention of the PA task on PND 18. The treatment also increased locomotor activity in females, but not in males, on PND 19. Choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) enzymatic activity was measured on PND 20 and revealed that choline administration in the first 2 weeks of postnatal life selectively affects male pups. Choline's effect, as seen in previous rat experiments, was to decrease ChAT activity in the hippocampal region. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexually dimorphic effects of anti-NGF treatment in neonatal rats

To investigate the sensitivity to changes in excitability of motoneuron pool dependent on voluntary motor commands, we recorded motor evoked potentials (MEPs) and H-reflexes from the right flexor carpi radialis (FCR) muscle of normal human subjects. Amplitudes of MEPs were always larger than those of the H-reflex in both tonic and phasic muscle contractions. Furthermore, amplitudes of MEP and H-reflex were larger in phasic than in tonic muscle contraction. These results indicate that there are differences in the sensitivity to changes in motoneuronal excitability related to the production of excitatory postsynaptic potentials for H-reflex and MEP responses, respectively.     

The DECIDE Science Gateway

The motivation of this work fits with the general vision to enable e-health for European citizens, irrespective of their social and financial status and their place of residence. Services to be provided include access to a high-quality early diagnostic and prognostic service for the Alzheimer Disease and other forms of dementia, based both on the European Research and Education Networks and the European Grid Infrastructure. The present paper reports on the architecture and services of a Science Gateway developed in the context of the DECIDE project, which aims to support the medical community in its daily duties of patients’ examination and diagnosis. The implementation of the Science Gateway is described with particular focus on the standard technologies adopted to ease the access by non IT-.expert users. The work leverages on an authentication and authorization infrastructure based on Identity Federations and robot certificates and on the adoption of the SAGA standard for middleware-independent Grid interaction. The architecture and the functionalities of the digital repository for medical image storage and analysis are also presented.     

Neonatal 192 IgG-saporin lesions of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons selectively impair response to spatial novelty in adult rats.

The role of the developing cholinergic basal forebrain system on cognitive behaviors was examined in 7 day-old rats by giving lesions with intraventricular injections of 192 IgG-saporin or saline. Rats were subjected to passive avoidance on postnatal days (PND) 22–23, water maze testing on PND 50–60, and a open-field test (in which reactions to spatial and object novelty were measured) on PND 54. Behavioral effects of the lesions were evident only in the open-field test with 5 objects. Unlike controls, the lesioned rats did not detect a spatial change after a displacement of 2 of the 5 objects. Control and lesioned rats, however, showed comparable novelty responses to an unfamiliar object. Lesion effectiveness was confirmed by 75% and 84% decreases in choline acetyltransferase activity in cortex and hippocampus. These results suggest that the developing cholinergic system may be involved in spatial information processing or attention to spatial modifications. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)