Neurite outgrowth

The emergence of spontaneous activity in the form of synchronized bursting events (SBE) is considered to play a crucial role in activity-dependent development of neuronal networks. As inhibition matures, the spatiotemporal structure of activity becomes increasingly influenced by the balance between excitation and inhibition (E/I). Moreover, intricate interactions between excitatory (ENs) and inhibitory (INs) neurons may arise during their activity-dependent structural differentiation. However, how the resulting spatial embedding of INs and ENs in a network impacts on the spatiotemporal structu

…They migrate and regrow neurites to establish synaptic connectivity and spontaneous network activity. Despite of homeostatic regulation, the resulting network structure and activity dynamics exhibit considerable variability across and within studi

Caffeine is a popular psychostimulant drug that many people consume daily in the form of coffee, tea, sodas or energy drinks. It increases your alertness, reduces fatigue, and seems to enhance cognitive functions, but is also involved in triggering anxiety in certain individuals. Caffeine is a non-selective adenosine receptor antagonist. When stimulated the receptors facilitate neurotransmitter release, long term potentiation, smooth muscle relaxation, and vasodilation to mention a few. Immature cortical and hippocampal primary cell cultures from rat were treated day 1-4 in vitro with non-sele

microRNAs (miRNAs) are small, non-coding RNAs involved in all processes in health and disease, including neuropathic pain and neuroregeneration. Upon peripheral nerve injury (PNI), dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons exhibit increased excitability and altered signaling, leading to dysregulation of their transcriptomic profiles indicative of neuropathic pain and axono-regenerative processes. The complexity of these neuronal responses makes distinguishing between the mechanisms involved in neuroregeneration and neuropathy highly challenging. To elucidate the role of miRNAs in these processes, we u

Disorders of the brain are often therapeutically managed rather than curative with the number of treatment modalities stalling in recent years. There is a lack of relevant drug screening models because current in vitro 2D cell culture systems fail to recapitulate adult neuronal network connectivity [1]. Here, we culture 3D neuronal networks displaying a level of functional connectivity and maturation which is not achieved using standard culture techniques.Polymer scaffolds were 3D printed using a digital light processor with a microstructure resolution of ~50μm and a maximum structure size of

…the promotion of anti-apoptosis, neurite growth and neurogenesis. In this study, we discovered that hPSC-EMSCs and hUC-MSCs expressed differential secreted factors by ut

KCNQ1 is the pore-forming alpha subunit of a voltage-dependent potassium channel complex. It is predominantly expressed in the heart and in the inner ear, however, it is also present in the brain. Genetic variants in KCNQ1 have been linked to several disorders, like Romano-Ward syndrome, Jervell and Lange Nielson syndrome and diabetes mellitus type 2. Moreover, KCNQ1 is also discussed to contribute to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer´s disease and neurodevelopmental disorders, even though it´s function in the human brain remains unknown. In this study we aim to elucidate the function of KCNQ1 in

Despite an increasing number of studies describing changes in dopamine brain regions and autism symptoms, the specific alterations in midbrain dopamine neurons projecting to the striatum remain unclear. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine the structural and morphological properties of primary dopaminergic neuronal cell cultures isolated from Shank3-deficient transgenic mouse, known for exhibiting autism-like symptomatology. Additionally, we evaluated the expression of selected synaptic proteins in the brain areas relevant for social behavior in wild type (WT) and Shank3-defi

The amygdala is a brain region primarily associated with emotional response. For example, fear learning and memory are known to activate neurons in the amygdala, which induce gene expression to strengthen the formation of stable engrams. Single-cell transcriptomics can provide insights into behavior-associated cell state changes. Here we present a detailed cell-type taxonomy of the adult mouse amygdala during fear learning and memory consolidation. We perform single-cell RNA sequencing on naïve and fear-conditioned mice, identify 130 neuronal cell types and validate their spatial distributions

As the human population ages the case of brain degenerative diseases will rise. The current treatment has a momentary effect and lacks an investigative system that is functionally applicable for testing. Though an optogenetic model and in vitro disease require a three-dimensional microenvironment, there is evidence that optogenetic stimulation is a viable approach. Differentiated SHSY-5Y cells were encapsulated in a 3D hydrogel (Gelatin Methacrylate) matrix in a multiplex system to examine the effects of optogenetic stimulation on neural development. SHSY-5Y cells are a human neuroblastoma ce

The Ion AmpliSeqTM was employed for the temporal transcriptomic characterization of the maturation of human stem cell derived neurons at multiple time points. Analysis of the data revealed a progressive increase in markers associated with neuronal development and astrocyte markers over the time. Indicating the establishment of a co-culture containing both glial cells and neurons, and highlighting the importance of culture duration. With the help of unbiased bioinformatics, the top 100 genes driving the principal component analysis clustering and the top 20 differentially expressed genes associ

…triggers), and partially prevents neurite outgrowth defects in mice lacking pro-survival factor NMNAT2. We also demonstrate the capa