On the "unreasonable" effects of ELF magnetic fields upon a system of ions

A recent experiment on a physical, nonbiological system of ions at room temperature has proved that microscopic ion currents can be induced by applying simultaneously two parallel magnetic fields, one rather weak static field, (-->)B(0) and one much weaker alternating field, (-->) B(ac),[B(ac) approximately 10(-3) B(0)] whose frequency coincides with the cyclotron frequency v = qB(0)/2pim of the selected ion. As a result, ionic bursts lasting up to 20 s and with amplitude up to 10 nA arise. The much larger exchanges of energy induced by thermal agitation (the "kT-problem") appear to play no role whatsoever. We have analyzed this problem in the framework of coherent quantum electrodynamics, reaching the following conclusions: (a) as has been shown in previous articles, water molecules in the liquid and solute ions are involved in their ground state in coherent ordered configurations; (b) ions are able to move without collisions among themselves in the interstices between water coherence domains; (c) because of coherence, ions can follow classical orbits in the magnetic fields. A full quantitative understanding of the experiments is thus reached

Rac1 and Rac3 GTPases Control Synergistically the Development of Cortical and Hippocampal GABAergic Interneurons

The intracellular mechanisms driving postmitotic development of cortical γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic interneurons are poorly understood. We have addressed the function of Rac GTPases in cortical and hippocampal interneuron development. Developing neurons express both Rac1 and Rac3. Previous work has shown that Rac1 ablation does not affect the development of migrating cortical interneurons. Analysis of mice with double deletion of Rac1 and Rac3 shows that these GTPases are required during postmitotic interneuron development. The number of parvalbumin-positive cells was affected in the hippocampus and cortex of double knockout mice. Rac depletion also influences the maturation of interneurons that reach their destination, with reduction of inhibitory synapses in both hippocampal CA1 and cortical pyramidal cells. The decreased number of cortical migrating interneurons and their altered morphology indicate a role of Rac1 and Rac3 in regulating the motility of cortical interneurons, thus interfering with their final localization. While electrophysiological passive and active properties of pyramidal neurons including membrane capacity, resting potential, and spike amplitude and duration were normal, these cells showed reduced spontaneous inhibitory currents and increased excitability. Our results show that Rac1 and Rac3 contribute synergistically to postmitotic development of specific populations of GABAergic cells, suggesting that these proteins regulate their migration and differentiation

Analysis of the noise associated to the muscarinic modulation of the mouse perirhinal cortex

The perirhinal cortex (PRC) is a polymodal associative area which plays a key role in several memory processes. It has been shown that cholinergic muscarinic modulation plays a crucial role in regulating PRC functions. In this work, changes in the signal noise during muscarinic modulation of the PRC have been observed and analyzed. The relationship between these changes and the information processing performed by neurons of the PRC are inevstigated. In more details, the effects of muscarinic modulation on the membrane potential and on the voltage membrane noise of pyramidal neurons and GABAergic interneurons are inevstigated, both from deep and superficial layers of the PRC

An Implantable System for Neural Communication and Stimulation: Design and Implementation

Assistive technologies enable humans to enhance their abilities and restore missing or lost physiological functions. However, some pathologies, such as facial palsy, are currently treated only with invasive surgical procedures. This article introduces a novel bio-compatible and safe implantable engineered based system for neural communication and stimulation, which is able to overcome facial paralysis due to a nerve lesion by highly reducing the need of surgeries. The proposed system design leverages on ultra-low power intra-body communication technologies to forward a signal extracted from a healthy nerve towards the injured contralater one. Preliminary prototypes are described to assess the feasibility of the proposed solution and the design of the overall communication system. Technical challenges that may be faced in the implementation of the system are discussed. The proposed solution opens the way to new opportunities for realizing innovative systems that employ unconventional communication technologies to support healthcare applications, with particular focus on neurological diseases therapies

Neuromodulatory functions exerted by oxytocin on different populations of hippocampal neurons in rodents

Oxytocin (OT) is a neuropeptide widely known for its peripheral hormonal effects (i.e., parturition and lactation) and central neuromodulatory functions, related especially to social behavior and social, spatial, and episodic memory. The hippocampus is a key structure for these functions, it is innervated by oxytocinergic fibers, and contains OT receptors (OTRs). The hippocampal OTR distribution is not homogeneous among its subregions and types of neuronal cells, reflecting the specificity of oxytocin’s modulatory action. In this review, we describe the most recent discoveries in OT/OTR signaling in the hippocampus, focusing primarily on the electrophysiological oxytocinergic modulation of the OTR-expressing hippocampal neurons. We then look at the effect this modulation has on the balance of excitation/inhibition and synaptic plasticity in each hippocampal subregion. Additionally, we review OTR downstream signaling, which underlies the OT effects observed in different types of hippocampal neuron. Overall, this review comprehensively summarizes the advancements in unraveling the neuromodulatory functions exerted by OT on specific hippocampal networks

Effects of electromagnetic fields of low frequency and low intensity on rats metabolism.

A series of experiments on rats have been performed, to study the effects of long time (50 days) exposure to electromagnetic fields of extremely low frequency (ELF, i.e. less than 100 Hz) and amplitude (non thermal), testing whether the metabolic processes would be affected. The background lies on recent observations on the behaviour of isolated enzymes in vitro exposed to EFL fields. In these experiments, the cyclotron (or Larmor) frequency of the metallic ion has been used to "stimulate" the metalloproteins redox-active site, thus obtaining a clear variation of the enzyme functionality. In this paper we have extended for the first time the check to more complex animal metabolism. The novelty of this approach implies that a large amount of data had to be analyzed since it was not possible, in principle, to select only a few parameters among all the potential effects. Several biochemical parameters have been evaluated by comparing their values during the periods of exposure (field ON) and non exposure (field OFF). The evidence that long term exposure to electromagnetic fields with a well defined frequency may have relevant effects on parameters such as body weight, blood glucose and fatty acid metabolism has been obtained

A Single-Electron Counter for Nanodosimetry

A detector has been devised able to measure with high resolution the primary ionisation yield in tissue-equivalent gas volumes of a few nanometres equivalent length. The sensitive ionisation volume is a wall-less millimetric region defined by a properly shaped electric field. Free electrons creased by the radiation inside the sensitive volume are collected into an electron multiplier, capable of efficiently counting single electrons at low gas pressure. The single-electron detection system consists of a long drift column attached to a multistep proportional counter. The electron cloud created by the radiation inside the sensitive volume, diffuses along the drift column. Single electrons, successively arriving at the multiplier are amplified, giving rise to a pulse trail from which the original number of ionisation electrons is counted. The experimental set-up, the electron counting principle, and first data are presented and discussed

SREBP2 delivery to striatal astrocytes normalizes transcription of cholesterol biosynthesis genes and ameliorates pathological features in Huntington’s Disease

Brain cholesterol is produced mainly by astrocytes and is important for neuronal function. Its biosynthesis is severely reduced in mouse models of Huntington\u2019s Disease (HD). One possible mechanism is a diminished nuclear translocation of the transcription factor sterol regulatory element binding protein 2 (SREBP2) and, consequently, reduced activation of SREBP-controlled genes in the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway. Here we evaluated the efficacy of a gene therapy based on the unilateral intra-striatal injection of a recombinant adeno-associated virus 2/5 (AAV2/5) targeting astrocytes specifically and carrying the N-terminal fragment of human SREBP2 (hSREBP2). Robust hSREBP2 expression in striatal glial cells in HD mice activated the transcription of cholesterol biosynthesis pathway genes, restored synaptic transmission, reversed Drd2 transcript levels decline, cleared muHTT aggregates and attenuated behavioral deficits. We conclude that glial SREBP2 participates in HD brain pathogenesis in vivo and that AAV-based delivery of SREBP2 to astrocytes counteracts key features of HD