Publications by authors named "James Perna"
Perinatal Penicillin Exposure Affects Cortical Development and Sensory Processing.
Front Mol Neurosci
December 2021
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the impact of perinatal penicillin exposure (PPE) on brain structure and function in mice, suggesting potential long-term health risks from antibiotic use in pregnant women and newborns.
- Findings reveal that adolescent mice exposed to PPE exhibit abnormal sensory processing, including impaired texture discrimination and altered behavioral responses, linked to increased neural activity and delayed maturation of key inhibitory neurons.
- While synaptic defects from antibiotic exposure may resolve during adolescence, the resulting behavioral abnormalities appear to persist into adulthood, indicating lasting effects on brain function.
Background: Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common type of mental retardation attributable to a single-gene mutation. It is caused by FMR1 gene silencing and the consequent loss of its protein product, fragile X mental retardation protein. Fmr1 global knockout (KO) mice recapitulate many behavioral and synaptic phenotypes associated with FXS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe touch dome is a highly patterned mechanosensory structure in the epidermis composed of specialized keratinocytes in juxtaposition with innervated Merkel cells. The touch dome epithelium is maintained by tissue-specific stem cells, but the signals that regulate the touch dome are not known. We identify touch dome stem cells that are unique among epidermal cells in their activated Hedgehog signaling and ability to maintain the touch dome as a distinct lineage compartment.
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