Nucleus reticularis tegmenti pontis: a bridge between the basal ganglia and cerebellum for movement control.

Neural processing in the basal ganglia is critical for normal movement. Diseases of the basal ganglia, such as Parkinson's disease, produce a variety of movement disorders including akinesia and bradykinesia. Many believe that the basal ganglia influence movement via thalamic projections to motor areas of the cerebral cortex and through projections to the cerebellum, which also projects to the motor cortex via the thalamus.

Design guidance for video chat system to support social engagement for older adults with and without mild cognitive impairment.

Background: Social engagement technologies offer an opportunity to reduce social isolation. However, there are barriers to adoption among older adults with and without Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Technology designed to meet the needs of those users may improve the acceptability, adoption, and benefits of social engagement technology.

Signaling Responses After Varying Sequencing of Strength and Endurance Training in a Fed State.

Purpose: To compare anabolic signaling responses to differing sequences of concurrent strength and endurance training in a fed state.

Methods: Eighteen resistance-trained men were randomly assigned to the following experimental conditions: strength training (ST), strength followed by endurance training (ST-END), or endurance followed by strength training (END-ST). Muscle tissue samples were taken from the vastus lateralis before each exercise protocol, on cessation of exercise, and 1 h after cessation of strength training.

Asymmetry of Cerebral Hemodynamic Response to Incremental Cycling Exercise.

Purpose: Exercise is known to result in hemodynamic changes in the bilateral prefrontal cortex. The aim of this study was to investigate hemodynamic changes in right and left hemispheres of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) during incremental cycling exercise.

Methods: After 10 min rest, 9 participants (mean age 26.

Consensus paper: current views on the role of cerebellar interpositus nucleus in movement control and emotion.

In the present paper, we examine the role of the cerebellar interpositus nucleus (IN) in motor and non-motor domains. Recent findings are considered, and we share the following conclusions: IN as part of the olivo-cortico-nuclear microcircuit is involved in providing powerful timing signals important in coordinating limb movements; IN could participate in the timing and performance of ongoing conditioned responses rather than the generation and/or initiation of such responses; IN is involved in the control of reflexive and voluntary movements in a task- and effector system-dependent fashion, including hand movements and associated upper limb adjustments, for quick effective actions; IN develops internal models for dynamic interactions of the motor system with the external environment for anticipatory control of movement; and IN plays a significant role in the modulation of autonomic and emotional functions.

Functional relations of cerebellar modules of the cat.

The cerebellum consists of parasagittal zones that define fundamental modules of neural processing. Each zone receives input from a distinct subdivision of the inferior olive (IO)-activity in one olivary subdivision will affect activity in one cerebellar module. To define functions of the cerebellar modules, we inactivated specific olivary subdivisions in six male cats with a glutamate receptor blocker.

Infant preference for female faces occurs for same- but not other-race faces.

There has been a recent surge of interest in the question of how infants respond to the social attributes of race and gender information in faces. This work has demonstrated that by 3 months of age, infants will respond preferentially to same-race faces and faces depicting the gender of the primary caregiver. In the current study, we investigated emergence of the female face preference for same- versus other-race faces to examine whether the determinants of preference for face gender and race are independent or interactive in young infants.

Pathways for control of face and neck musculature by the basal ganglia and cerebellum.

The basal ganglia are believed to influence movement via thalamo-cortical projections. However, the basal ganglia may also affect brainstem areas involved in movement control such as the red nucleus. The red nucleus receives input from the cerebellum and projects to motor neurons and premotor neurons in the contralateral brainstem and spinal cord.

Outcome following preterm birth.

Preterm birth currently occurs in approximately 12% of pregnancies and appears to be increasing despite improvements in obstetric care. Improvements in neonatal care have led to increased survival, particularly at extreme prematurity, but survival may be associated with significant morbidity. This may be acute, reflecting the difficulties in supporting an individual in a hostile extrauterine environment to which they should not be exposed, or chronic, reflecting disturbances to fragile, immature body systems.

Influence of cross-linked hyaluronic acid hydrogels on neurite outgrowth and recovery from spinal cord injury.

Object: Therapies that use bioactive materials as replacement extracellular matrices may hold the potential to mitigate the inhibition of regeneration observed after central nervous system trauma. Hyaluronic acid (HA), a nonsulfated glycosaminoglycan ubiquitous in all tissues, was investigated as a potential neural tissue engineering matrix.

Methods: Chick dorsal root ganglia were cultured in 3D hydrogel matrices composed of cross-linked thiol-modified HA or fibrin.

The contributions of plasma IGF-I, IGFBP-3 and leptin to growth in extremely premature infants during the first two years.

We determined the contributions of IGF-I, IGFBP-3 and leptin to growth in extremely premature infants over the first two years. Weight (Wt), crown-to heel length (CHL), plasma IGF-I, IGFBP-3 and leptin were measured in infants (gestation 24-33 wk) at birth (n = 54), expected date of delivery (EDD) and 6, 12 and 24 mo post-EDD (n = 29). Area under the curve (AUC) for hormone levels was calculated over 4 periods: birth-EDD, EDD-200 d, EDD-350 d and EDD-700 d.

Adaptation of the Carter method to adjust lumbar spine bone mineral content for age and body size: application to children who were born preterm.

In adults, the Carter method allows the separation of the lumbar spine bone mineral content (BMC) into its constituents; bone volume (BV) and volumetric density (bone mineral apparent density [BMAD]). However, this method is not widely used in pediatric studies and does not account for the effects of body habitus on bone mass. The aims of this study were to modify the Carter method for use in children by developing an approach that adjusts separately for age and body height, and to test whether lumbar spine bone mass is normal in children born who were born preterm.

Three-month-olds, but not newborns, prefer own-race faces.

Adults are sensitive to the physical differences that define ethnic groups. However, the age at which we become sensitive to ethnic differences is currently unclear. Our study aimed to clarify this by testing newborns and young infants for sensitivity to ethnicity using a visual preference (VP) paradigm.

Activation of climbing fibers.

Cells in the inferior olive are the sole source of climbing fibers to the cerebellum. In this article, we review some of the discharge properties of olivary cells that are important for understanding its functional role in cerebellar processing. It is generally believed that climbing fiber input supplies the cerebellum with information related to movement errors in order to improve motor performance.

Discharge of inferior olive cells during reaching errors and perturbations.

It is widely believed that inferior olive (IO) neurons signal the occurrence of movement errors. The IO compares descending motor commands with information about movement and detects mismatches. Presumably, this error signal is used by the cerebellum to improve motor performance.

Receptor-independent activation of Rho-kinase-mediated calcium sensitisation in smooth muscle.

1. The aim of this work was to determine whether Rho-kinase-mediated calcium sensitisation contributes to contractions of the mouse anococcygeus smooth muscle and, if so, whether the process was activated by receptor-dependent or receptor-independent mechanisms. 2.

Calyculin-A inhibits nitrergic relaxations of the mouse anococcygeus.

The aim was to determine whether blockade of store-operated Ca(2+) entry, or inhibition of Ca(2+) sensitisation, is the predominant mechanism by which neuronally released nitric oxide mediates relaxation of the mouse anococcygeus. Nitrergic relaxations to field stimulation (10 Hz, 10 s trains) were unaffected by the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) ATPase blocking agent thapsigargin (100 nM), known to prevent nitric-oxide-induced inhibition of store-operated Ca(2+) entry. Conversely, the myosin phosphatase inhibitor calyculin-A (1 microM) caused almost complete abolition of nitrergic relaxations.

Measurement and the newborn infant.

Measurement of newborn babies is widely regarded as being too inaccurate to justify its regular practice. It is common for infants to be weighed at birth and for no other measurements to be made. Although such assumptions are superficially correct, it is possible to train people to perform accurate measurements and for improved performance to be sustained.

Inhibitory control of olivary discharge.

The inferior olivary nucleus is the sole source of an entire afferent system to the cerebellum, the climbing-fiber system. Inferior olivary neurons are very sensitive to the appropriate sensory stimuli, such as light contact to the paw. Yet, when animals move about, olivary cells show little change in discharge rate.

Pharmacology and thermosensitivity of the dartos muscle isolated from rat scrotum.

1 The dartos is a thin sheet of smooth muscle closely associated with the skin of the scrotum. Although known to play an important role in scrotal thermoregulation, there has been no detailed study into the pharmacology, or thermosensitivity, of the dartos from any species. Here, we investigate these two parameters in the isolated dartos muscle from rat.