Synaptic development of layer V pyramidal neurons in the prenatal human prefrontal neocortex: a Neurolucida-aided Golgi study.

The prefrontal neocortex is involved in many high cognitive functions in humans. Deficits in neuronal and neurocircuitry development in this part of the cerebrum have been associated with various neuropsychiatric disorders in adolescents and adults. There are currently little available data regarding prenatal dendrite and spine formation on projecting neurons in the human prefrontal neocortex.

Formalin-induced increase in P2X(3) receptor expression in dorsal root ganglia: implications for nociception.

1. ATP-gated P2X receptors in nociceptive sensory neurons participate in the transmission of pain signals from the periphery to the spinal cord. The effect of formalin on the expression of P2X(3) receptors in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) was characterized using molecular and immunological approaches and the patch-clamp technique.

[Expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in hippocampus of ovariectomized mouse].

Objective: To explore the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the hippocampus after ovariectomy in mice.

Methods: BDNF levels were detected by immunohistochemistry combined image analysis in hippocampal CA regions and dentate gyrus of ovariectomized mice.

Results: The expression of BDNF in hippocampus of mice decreased significantly after the ovariectomy after 4 days.

Impaired long-term potentiation in c-Jun N-terminal kinase 2-deficient mice.

c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNKs) are thought to be involved in regulating synaptic plasticity. We therefore investigated the specific role of JNK2 in modulating long-term potentiation (LTP) in hippocampus during development, using JNK2-deficient mice. The morphological structure and the numbers of both NeuN, a specific neuronal marker, and GABA-positive neurons in the hippocampal areas were similar in wild-type and Jnk2(-/-) mice.