Impaired trigeminal control of ingestive behavior in the Prrxl1-/- mouse is associated with a lemniscal-biased orosensory deafferentation.

Although peripheral deafferentation studies have demonstrated a critical role for trigeminal afference in modulating the orosensorimotor control of eating and drinking, the central trigeminal pathways mediating that control, as well as the timescale of control, remain to be elucidated. In rodents, three ascending somatosensory pathways process and relay orofacial mechanosensory input: the lemniscal, paralemniscal, and extralemniscal. Two of these pathways (the lemniscal and extralemniscal) exhibit highly structured topographic representations of the orofacial sensory surface, as exemplified by the one-to-one somatotopic mapping between vibrissae on the animals' face and barrelettes in brainstem, barreloids in thalamus, and barrels in cortex.

Abolition of lemniscal barrellette patterning in Prrxl1 knockout mice: Effects upon ingestive behavior.

Ingestive behaviors in mice are dependent on orosensory cues transmitted via the trigeminal nerve, as confirmed by transection studies. However, these studies cannot differentiate between deficits caused by the loss of the lemniscal pathway vs. the parallel paralemniscal pathway.

Phase II study of gemcitabine and bevacizumab as first-line treatment in taxane-pretreated, HER2-negative, locally recurrent or metastatic breast cancer.

Background: In first-line treatment of metastatic breast cancer, the best use of the available therapeutic agents is unclear. This study evaluated the efficacy and safety of combined therapy with bevacizumab and gemcitabine.

Patients: Women who were to undergo first-line treatment for locoregionally recurrent or metastatic breast cancer were eligible.

Vibrissae motor cortex unit activity during whisking.

Rats generate stereotyped exploratory (5-12 Hz) vibrissa movements when navigating through their environment. Like other rhythmic behaviors, the production of whisking relies on a subcortical pattern generator. However, the relatively large vibrissae representation in motor cortex (vMCx) suggests that cortex also contributes to the control of whisker movements.

Wally Welker and neurobehavioral evolution: an appreciation and bibliography.

The following review and appreciation of the pioneering work and character of Wallace I. (Wally) Welker provides a historical perspective on Welker's life-long quest for answers to fundamental questions on the relationships among brain, behavior, and evolution, and evaluates his impact upon comparative behavioral neuroscience.