84 research outputs found
Gap Junctions and Epileptic Seizures – Two Sides of the Same Coin?
Electrical synapses (gap junctions) play a pivotal role in the synchronization of
neuronal ensembles which also makes them likely agonists of pathological brain
activity. Although large body of experimental data and theoretical
considerations indicate that coupling neurons by electrical synapses promotes
synchronous activity (and thus is potentially epileptogenic), some recent
evidence questions the hypothesis of gap junctions being among purely
epileptogenic factors. In particular, an expression of inter-neuronal gap
junctions is often found to be higher after the experimentally induced seizures
than before. Here we used a computational modeling approach to address the role
of neuronal gap junctions in shaping the stability of a network to perturbations
that are often associated with the onset of epileptic seizures. We show that
under some circumstances, the addition of gap junctions can increase the
dynamical stability of a network and thus suppress the collective electrical
activity associated with seizures. This implies that the experimentally observed
post-seizure additions of gap junctions could serve to prevent further
escalations, suggesting furthermore that they are a consequence of an adaptive
response of the neuronal network to the pathological activity. However, if the
seizures are strong and persistent, our model predicts the existence of a
critical tipping point after which additional gap junctions no longer suppress
but strongly facilitate the escalation of epileptic seizures. Our results thus
reveal a complex role of electrical coupling in relation to epileptiform events.
Which dynamic scenario (seizure suppression or seizure escalation) is ultimately
adopted by the network depends critically on the strength and duration of
seizures, in turn emphasizing the importance of temporal and causal aspects when
linking gap junctions with epilepsy
Clinical practice: The care of children with Down syndrome
Down syndrome (DS) is one of the most common chromosomal abnormalities. Because of medical advances and improvements in overall medical care, the median survival of individuals with DS has increased considerably. This longer life expectancy requires giving the necessary care to the individual with DS over their total longer lifespan. DS medical guidelines are designed for the optimal care of the child in whom a diagnosis of DS has been confirmed. We present an overview of the most important issues related to children with DS based on the most relevant literature currently available
Glutamate regulation of calcium and IP3 oscillating and pulsating dynamics in astrocytes
Recent years have witnessed an increasing interest in neuron-glia
communication. This interest stems from the realization that glia participates
in cognitive functions and information processing and is involved in many brain
disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. An important process in neuron-glia
communications is astrocyte encoding of synaptic information transfer: the
modulation of intracellular calcium dynamics in astrocytes in response to
synaptic activity. Here, we derive and investigate a concise mathematical model
for glutamate-induced astrocytic intracellular Ca2+ dynamics that captures the
essential biochemical features of the regulatory pathway of inositol
1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3). Starting from the well-known two-state Li-Rinzel
model for calcium-induced-calcium release, we incorporate the regulation of the
IP3 production and phosphorylation. Doing so we extended it to a three-state
model (referred as the G-ChI model), that could account for Ca2+ oscillations
triggered by endogenous IP3 metabolism as well as by IP3 production by external
glutamate signals. Compared to previous similar models, our three-state models
include a more realistic description of the IP3 production and degradation
pathways, lumping together their essential nonlinearities within a concise
formulation. Using bifurcation analysis and time simulations, we demonstrate
the existence of new putative dynamical features. The cross-couplings between
IP3 and Ca2+ pathways endows the system with self-consistent oscillator
properties and favor mixed frequency-amplitude encoding modes over pure
amplitude modulation ones. These and additional results of our model are in
general agreement with available experimental data and may have important
implications on the role of astrocytes in the synaptic transfer of information.Comment: 42 pages, 16 figures, 1 table. Figure filenames mirror figure order
in the paper. Ending "S" in figure filenames stands for "Supplementary
Figure". This article was selected by the Faculty of 1000 Biology: "Genevieve
Dupont: Faculty of 1000 Biology, 4 Sep 2009" at
http://www.f1000biology.com/article/id/1163674/evaluatio
Nonlinear gap junctions enable long-distance propagation of pulsating calcium waves in astrocyte networks
A new paradigm has recently emerged in brain science whereby communications
between glial cells and neuron-glia interactions should be considered together
with neurons and their networks to understand higher brain functions. In
particular, astrocytes, the main type of glial cells in the cortex, have been
shown to communicate with neurons and with each other. They are thought to form
a gap-junction-coupled syncytium supporting cell-cell communication via
propagating Ca2+ waves. An identified mode of propagation is based on
cytoplasm-to-cytoplasm transport of inositol trisphosphate (IP3) through gap
junctions that locally trigger Ca2+ pulses via IP3-dependent Ca2+-induced Ca2+
release. It is, however, currently unknown whether this intracellular route is
able to support the propagation of long-distance regenerative Ca2+ waves or is
restricted to short-distance signaling. Furthermore, the influence of the
intracellular signaling dynamics on intercellular propagation remains to be
understood. In this work, we propose a model of the gap-junctional route for
intercellular Ca2+ wave propagation in astrocytes showing that: (1)
long-distance regenerative signaling requires nonlinear coupling in the gap
junctions, and (2) even with nonlinear gap junctions, long-distance
regenerative signaling is favored when the internal Ca2+ dynamics implements
frequency modulation-encoding oscillations with pulsating dynamics, while
amplitude modulation-encoding dynamics tends to restrict the propagation range.
As a result, spatially heterogeneous molecular properties and/or weak couplings
are shown to give rise to rich spatiotemporal dynamics that support complex
propagation behaviors. These results shed new light on the mechanisms
implicated in the propagation of Ca2+ waves across astrocytes and precise the
conditions under which glial cells may participate in information processing in
the brain.Comment: Article: 30 pages, 7 figures. Supplementary Material: 11 pages, 6
figure
Atypical birdsong and artificial languages provide insights into how communication systems are shaped by learning, use and transmission
In this article, I argue that a comparative approach focusing on the cognitive capacities and behavioral mechanisms that underlie vocal learning in songbirds and humans can provide valuable insights into the evolutionary origins of language. The experimental approaches I discuss use abnormal song and atypical linguistic input to study the processes of individual learning, social interaction, and cultural transmission. Atypical input places increased learning and communicative pressure on learners, so exploring how they respond to this type of input provides a particularly clear picture of the biases and constraints at work during learning and use. Furthermore, simulating the cultural transmission of these unnatural communication systems in the laboratory informs us about how learning and social biases influence the structure of communication systems in the long run. Findings based on these methods suggest fundamental similarities in the basic social–cognitive mechanisms underlying vocal learning in birds and humans, and continuing research promises insights into the uniquely human mechanisms and into how human cognition and social behavior interact, and ultimately impact on the evolution of language
Influence of antenatal physical exercise on haemodynamics in pregnant women: a flexible randomisation approach
Background: Normal pregnancy is associated with marked changes in haemodynamic function, however theinfluence and potential benefits of antenatal physical exercise at different stages of pregnancy and postpartumremain unclear. The aim of this study was therefore to characterise the influence of regular physical exercise onhaemodynamic variables at different stages of pregnancy and also in the postpartum period.Methods: Fifty healthy pregnant women were recruited and randomly assigned (2 × 2 × 2 design) to a land orwater-based exercise group or a control group. Exercising groups attended weekly classes from the 20th week ofpregnancy onwards. Haemodynamic assessments (heart rate, cardiac output, stroke volume, total peripheralresistance, systolic and diastolic blood pressure and end diastolic index) were performed using the Task Forcehaemodynamic monitor at 12–16, 26–28, 34–36 and 12 weeks following birth, during a protocol including posturalmanoeurvres (supine and standing) and light exercise.Results: In response to an acute bout of exercise in the postpartum period, stroke volume and end diastolic indexwere greater in the exercise group than the non-exercising control group (p = 0.041 and p = 0.028 respectively).Total peripheral resistance and diastolic blood pressure were also lower (p = 0.015 and p = 0.007, respectively) in theexercise group. Diastolic blood pressure was lower in the exercise group during the second trimester (p = 0.030).Conclusions: Antenatal exercise does not appear to substantially alter maternal physiology with advancinggestation, speculating that the already vast changes in maternal physiology mask the influences of antenatalexercise, however it does appear to result in an improvement in a woman’s haemodynamic function (enhancedventricular ejection performance and reduced blood pressure) following the end of pregnancy
Children with cerebral palsy exhibit greater and more regular postural sway than typically developing children
Following recent advances in the analysis of centre-of-pressure (COP) recordings, we examined the structure of COP trajectories in ten children (nine in the analyses) with cerebral palsy (CP) and nine typically developing (TD) children while standing quietly with eyes open (EO) and eyes closed (EC) and with concurrent visual COP feedback (FB). In particular, we quantified COP trajectories in terms of both the amount and regularity of sway. We hypothesised that: (1) compared to TD children, CP children exhibit a greater amount of sway and more regular sway and (2) concurrent visual feedback (creating an external functional context for postural control, inducing a more external focus of attention) decreases both the amount of sway and sway regularity in TD and CP children alike, while closing the eyes has opposite effects. The data were largely in agreement with both hypotheses. Compared to TD children, the amount of sway tended to be larger in CP children, while sway was more regular. Furthermore, the presence of concurrent visual feedback resulted in less regular sway compared to the EO and EC conditions. This effect was less pronounced in the CP group where posturograms were most regular in the EO condition rather than in the EC condition, as in the control group. Nonetheless, we concluded that CP children might benefit from therapies involving postural tasks with an external functional context for postural control
Assessment of motor functioning in the preschool period
The assessment of motor functioning in young children has become increasingly important in recent years with the acknowledgement that motor impairment is linked with cognitive, language, social and emotional difficulties. However, there is no one gold standard assessment tool to investigate motor ability in children. The aim of the current paper was to discuss the issues related to the assessment of motor ability in young pre-school children and to provide guidelines on the best approach for motor assessment. The paper discusses the maturational changes in brain development at the preschool level in relation to motor ability. Other issues include sex differences in motor ability at this young age, and evidence for this in relation to sociological versus biological influences. From the previous literature it is unclear what needs to be assessed in relation to motor functioning. Should the focus be underlying motor processes or movement skill assessment? Several key assessment tools are discussed that produce a general measure of motor performance followed by a description of tools that assess specific skills, such as fine and gross motor, ball and graphomotor skills. The paper concludes with recommendations on the best approach in assessing motor function in pre-school children
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