Chronic Swimming Exercise Ameliorates Low-Soybean-Oil Diet-Induced Spatial Memory Impairment by Enhancing BDNF-Mediated Synaptic Potentiation in Developing Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats.

Exercise and low-fat diets are common lifestyle modifications used for the treatment of hypertension besides drug therapy. However, unrestrained low-fat diets may result in deficiencies of low-unsaturated fatty acids and carry contingent risks of delaying neurodevelopment. While aerobic exercise shows positive neuroprotective effects, it is still unclear whether exercise could alleviate the impairment of neurodevelopment that may be induced by certain low-fat diets.

Downregulation of lncRNA X Inactive Specific Transcript (XIST) Suppresses Cell Proliferation and Enhances Radiosensitivity by Upregulating mir-29c in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Cells.

BACKGROUND LncRNA X inactive specific transcript (XIST) was reported to function as an oncogene in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells (NPC) by sponging miR-34a-5p. However, the role of XIST in modulating the radiosensitivity of NPC cells and its mechanism still remain undefined. MATERIAL AND METHODS The expressions of XIST and miR-29c in NPC cells were evaluated by qRT-PCR.

Effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on synaptic plasticity and apoptosis in vascular dementia rats.

This study aims to determine whether low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) protects pyramidal cells from apoptosis and promotes hippocampal synaptic plasticity in a vascular dementia (VaD) rat model. Following establishment of a VaD rat model using two-vessel occlusion (2VO), learning and memory were evaluated via the Morris Water Maze (MWM), hippocampal CA1 neuron ultrastructure was examined via electron microscopy, and hippocampal synaptic plasticity was assessed by long-term potentiation (LTP). Western blot was used to detect the expression of N-methyl-d-aspartic acid receptor 1 (NMDAR1), Bcl-2, and Bax.

Functional connectivity among spike trains in neural assemblies during rat working memory task.

Working memory refers to a brain system that provides temporary storage to manipulate information for complex cognitive tasks. As the brain is a more complex, dynamic and interwoven network of connections and interactions, the questions raised here: how to investigate the mechanism of working memory from the view of functional connectivity in brain network? How to present most characteristic features of functional connectivity in a low-dimensional network? To address these questions, we recorded the spike trains in prefrontal cortex with multi-electrodes when rats performed a working memory task in Y-maze. The functional connectivity matrix among spike trains was calculated via maximum likelihood estimation (MLE).

Low-frequency (1 Hz) repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) reverses Aβ(1-42)-mediated memory deficits in rats.

Accumulating evidence shows the disruption of hippocampal neurotrophins secretion leads to memory deficits in Alzheimer's disease (AD) animal models. Invasive injection of exogenous neurotrophins into hippocampus reverses spatial memory deficits, but its clinical application is limited by traumatic brain injury during the injection procedure. Notably, recent studies have demonstrated that noninvasive repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) increases endogenous neurotrophins contents in the brain of normal rats.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation increases excitability of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is able to induce alteration in cortical activity and excitability that outlast the period of stimulation, which is long-term depre-ssion (LTD) or long-term potentiation (LTP)-like. Accumulating evidence shows that Na(+), Ca(2+) and K(+) channels are important for the regulation of neuronal excitability. To investigate the possible mechanisms of rTMS on regulation of intrinsic excitability in hippocampal neurons, the male or female Sprague-Dawley rats aged 2-3 d or 7-8 d were treated with 14 or 7-d's low frequency (1 Hz) rTMS (400 stimuli/d), respectively.