Construction of simple, customised, brain-spanning, multi-channel, linear microelectrode arrays.

Background: The construction of multichannel micro-electrode arrays (MEA) generally requires complex and expensive procedures. Here we describe a simple, cheap, flexible method of linear MEA construction.

New Method: Our method allows manufacture of linear MEA (cross section ∼ 375 × 250 μm with 12 electrodes) of any desired length, with customized spacing of the electrode tips (down to a minimum spacing of 200 μm or less) to suit different needs and experiments.

Expression of CD40 Correlates Negatively with Overall and Progression-Free Survival of Low- and High-Grade Gliomas.

Background: Low-grade gliomas (LGGs) are known to progress to glioblastoma (GBM), decreasing the chances of survival. The tumor necrosis factor receptor CD40 and its ligand CD40L have shown value as biomarkers for GBM. The present study evaluated the role of CD40/CD40L in LGG and GBM in differentiating isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) wild-type and IDH-mutant GBM.

Proximal perimeter encoding in the rat rostral thalamus.

Perimeters are an important part of the environment, delimiting its geometry. Here, we investigated how perimeters (vertical walls; vertical drops) affect neuronal responses in the rostral thalamus (the anteromedial and parataenial nuclei in particular). We found neurons whose firing patterns reflected the presence of walls and drops, irrespective of arena shape.

Environmental enrichment increases prefrontal EEG power and synchrony with the hippocampus in rats with anterior thalamus lesions.

The anterior thalamic nuclei (ATN) are a major interface between the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex within an extended Papez circuit. Rat models suggest that the deficits caused by ATN damage, which is associated with "diencephalic amnesia", can be ameliorated by environmental enrichment (EE) through unknown mechanisms. We examined whether changes in theta rhythmicity within and between the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex are influenced by EE in rats with ATN lesions.

The persistence of long-term potentiation in the projection from ventral hippocampus to medial prefrontal cortex in awake rats.

A potentially vital pathway in the processing of spatial memory is the pathway from ventral hippocampus to medial prefrontal cortex (vHPC-mPFC). To assess long-term potentiation (LTP) induction and maintenance across days in this pathway, the effects of several induction paradigms were compared in awake, freely moving rats. Two different high-frequency stimulation (HFS) protocols generated LTP lasting no longer than 1 week.

Anterior thalamic nuclei lesions and recovery of function: Relevance to cognitive thalamus.

Injury to the anterior thalamic nuclei (ATN) and their neural connections is the most consistent neuropathology associated with diencephalic amnesia. ATN lesions in rats produce memory impairments that support a key role for this region within an extended hippocampal system of complex overlapping neural connections. Environmental enrichment is a therapeutic tool that produces substantial, although incomplete, recovery of memory function after ATN lesions, even after the lesion-induced deficit has become established.