Preventing neuronal damage and inflammation in vivo during cortical microelectrode implantation through the use of poloxamer P-188.

Objective: The aim of this study was to test the efficacy of Poloxamer P188 to reduce cell death and immune response associated with mechanical trauma to cells during implantation of a chronic recording electrode.

Approach: Ceramic multi-site recording electrodes were implanted bilaterally into 15 adult male Long-Evans rats. One of each pair was randomly assigned to receive a coating of Poloxamer while the other was treated with saline.

Waxholm space: an image-based reference for coordinating mouse brain research.

We describe an atlas of the C57BL/6 mouse brain based on MRI and conventional Nissl histology. Magnetic resonance microscopy was performed on a total of 14 specimens that were actively stained to enhance tissue contrast. Images were acquired with three different MR protocols yielding contrast dependent on spin lattice relaxation (T1), spin spin relaxation (T2), and magnetic susceptibility (T2*).

The Neuroterrain 3D Mouse Brain Atlas.

A significant objective of neuroinformatics is the construction of tools to readily access, search, and analyze anatomical imagery. This goal can be subdivided into development of the necessary databases and of the computer vision tools for image analysis. When considering mesoscale images, the latter tools can be further divided into registration algorithms and anatomical models.

Contour-Based Surface Reconstruction using MPU Implicit Models.

This paper presents a technique for creating a smooth, closed surface from a set of 2D contours, which have been extracted from a 3D scan. The technique interprets the pixels that make up the contours as points in ℝ(3) and employs Multi-level Partition of Unity (MPU) implicit models to create a surface that approximately fits to the 3D points. Since MPU implicit models additionally require surface normal information at each point, an algorithm that estimates normals from the contour data is also described.

Brain spatial normalization.

Neuroanatomical informatics, a subspecialty of neuroinformatics, focuses on technological solutions to neuroimage database access. Its current main goal is an image-based query system that is able to retrieve imagery based on anatomical location. Here, we describe a set of tools that collectively form such a solution for sectional material and that are available to investigators to use on their own data sets.

Atlas-based indexing of brain sections via 2-D to 3-D image registration.

A 2-D to 3-D nonlinear intensity-based registration method is proposed in which the alignment of histological brain sections with a volumetric brain atlas is performed. First, sparsely cut brain sections were linearly matched with an oblique slice automatically extracted from the atlas. Second, a planar-to-curved surface alignment was employed in order to match each section with its corresponding image overlaid on a curved-surface within the atlas.

Class III beta-tubulin and gamma-tubulin are co-expressed and form complexes in human glioblastoma cells.

We have previously shown that the neuronal-associated class III beta-tubulin isotype and the centrosome-associated gamma-tubulin are aberrantly expressed in astrocytic gliomas (Cell Motil Cytoskeleton 2003, 55:77-96; J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 2006, 65:455-467). Here we determined the expression, distribution and interaction of betaIII-tubulin and gamma-tubulin in diffuse-type astrocytic gliomas (grades II-IV) (n = 17) and the human glioblastoma cell line T98G. By immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence microscopy, betaIII-tubulin and gamma-tubulin were co-distributed in anaplastic astrocytomas and glioblastomas and to a lesser extent, in low-grade diffuse astrocytomas (P < 0.

NeuroTerrain--a client-server system for browsing 3D biomedical image data sets.

Background: Three dimensional biomedical image sets are becoming ubiquitous, along with the canonical atlases providing the necessary spatial context for analysis. To make full use of these 3D image sets, one must be able to present views for 2D display, either surface renderings or 2D cross-sections through the data. Typical display software is limited to presentations along one of the three orthogonal anatomical axes (coronal, horizontal, or sagittal).

Altered cellular distribution and subcellular sorting of gamma-tubulin in diffuse astrocytic gliomas and human glioblastoma cell lines.

Centrosome amplification is a pivotal mechanism underlying tumorigenesis but its role in gliomas is underinvestigated. The present study specifically examines the expression and distribution of the centrosome-associated cytoskeletal protein gamma-tubulin in 56 primary diffuse astrocytic gliomas (grades II-IV) and in 4 human glioblastoma cell lines (U87MG, U118MG, U138MG, and T98G). Monoclonal anti-peptide antibodies recognizing epitopes in C-terminal or N-terminal domains of the gamma-tubulin molecule were used in immunohistochemical, immunofluorescence, and immunoblotting studies.

MRI diffusion coefficients in spinal cord correlate with axon morphometry.

Following spinal cord injury, diffusion MRI (DWI) has been shown to detect injury and functionally significant neuroprotection following treatment that otherwise would go undetected with conventional MRI. The underlying histologic correlates to directional apparent diffusion coefficients (ADC) obtained with DWI have not been determined, however, and we address this issue by directly correlating ADC values with corresponding axon morphometry in the normal rat cervical spinal cord. ADC values transverse (perpendicular) and longitudinal (parallel) to axons both correlate with axon counts, however each directional ADC reflects distinct histologic parameters.

Assessment of axonal fiber tract architecture in excised rat spinal cord by localized NMR q-space imaging: simulations and experimental studies.

NMR q-space imaging is a method designed to obtain information from porous materials where diffusion-diffraction phenomena were observed from which pore size was derived. Recently, the technique has been applied to the study of biological structures as well. Although diffusive diffraction has so far not been observed in multicellular systems, displacement profiles have been used with some success as a means to estimate structure size.

Surface alignment of an elastic body using a multiresolution wavelet representation.

An algorithm for nonlinear registration of an elastic body is developed. Surfaces (outlines) of known anatomic structures are used to align all other (internal) points. The deformation field is represented with a multiresolution wavelet expansion and is modeled by the partial differential equations of linear elasticity.

A guide to building image-centric databases.

There is a paucity of image-centric neuroinformatics infrastructure within the individual investigator's laboratory despite the obvious need for automation and integration of experimental results. Yet, solutions can often be readily built using off-the-shelf databases and associated tools. Doing so simplifies day-to-day research operation and increases throughput.

Informatics center for mouse genomics: the dissection of complex traits of the nervous system.

In recent years, there has been an explosion in the number of tools and techniques available to researchers interested in exploring the genetic basis of all aspects of central nervous system (CNS) development and function. Here, we exploit a powerful new reductionist approach to explore the genetic basis of the very significant structural and molecular differences between the brains of different strains of mice, called either complex trait or quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis. Our specific focus has been to provide universal access over the web to tools for the genetic dissection of complex traits of the CNS--tools that allow researchers to map genes that modulate phenotypes at a variety of levels ranging from the molecular all the way to the anatomy of the entire brain.

Design and implementation of software for assembly and browsing of 3D brain atlases.

Visualization software for three dimensional digital brain atlases present many challenges in design and implementation. These challenges include the design of an effective human interface, management of large data sets, display speed when slicing the data set for viewing/browsing, and the display of delineated volumes of interest (VOI). We present a software design, implementation and storage architecture that addresses these issues, allowing the user to navigate through a reconstructed volume quickly and smoothly, with an easy-to-use human interface.

Elastic 3-D alignment of rat brain histological images.

A three-dimensional wavelet-based algorithm for nonlinear registration of an elastic body model of the brain is developed. Surfaces of external and internal anatomic brain structures are used to guide alignment. The deformation field is represented with a multiresolution wavelet expansion and is modeled by the partial differential equations of linear elasticity.

Subicular dendritic arborization in Alzheimer's disease correlates with neurofibrillary tangle density.

Intracellular accumulation of PHFtau in Alzheimer's disease (AD) disrupts the neuronal cytoskeleton and other neuronal machinery and contributes to axonal and dendritic degeneration, and neuronal death. Furthermore, amyloid-beta (Abeta) has been reported to be toxic to neurons and neurites. While loss of presynaptic elements is an established feature of AD, the nature and extent of dendritic degeneration has been infrequently studied.

Distribution of microtubule-associated protein MAP2-immunoreactive interstitial neurons in the parahippocampal white matter in subjects with schizophrenia.

Objective: Evidence suggests that schizophrenia is a neurodevelopmental disorder that may involve abnormal connectivity between various cortical and subcortical brain areas. The parahippocampal gyrus is an area important for higher cognition in which a variety of cytoarchitectural, neuronal morphometric, and innervation abnormalities in schizophrenia have been reported. Previous studies have reported abnormal distributions of interstitial white matter neurons in prefrontal, parietal, and temporal neocortices, which suggests that schizophrenia may be related to prenatal disturbances in the cortical subplate, a transitory structure involved in the formation of connections in the developing cortex from which the interstitial white matter neurons derive.

Differential effects of prenatal cocaine exposure on selected subunit mRNAs of the GABA(A) receptor in rabbit anterior cingulate cortex.

We have previously shown that in the dopamine-rich anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), significant changes in gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) immunoreactivity occur in the offspring of rabbits given intravenous injections of cocaine (3 mg/kg) twice daily during pregnancy. In the present study, the effects of prenatal cocaine exposure on the developmental expression of specific GABA(A) receptor subunit mRNAs were investigated. We compared the distribution of the alpha1, beta2, and gamma2 subunit mRNAs in cocaine- and saline-treated offspring aged postnatal days 20 and 60 (P20, P60).

Thyroid hormone distribution in the mouse brain: the role of transthyretin.

Transthyretin is the major thyroxine-binding protein in the plasma of rodents, and the main thyroxine-binding protein in the cerebrospinal fluid of both rodents and humans. The choroid plexus synthesizes transthyretin and secretes it to the cerebrospinal fluid. Although it was suggested that transthyretin might play an important role in mediating thyroxine transfer from the blood into the brain across the choroid plexus-cerebrospinal fluid barrier, newer findings question this hypothesis.

Parahippocampal tau pathology in healthy aging, mild cognitive impairment, and early Alzheimer's disease.

Abnormally phosphorylated tau accumulates as neurofibrillary tangles and neuropil threads in older persons with and without Alzheimer's disease. The relationship between neurofibrillary tangles and neuropil threads and how they relate to cognitive function is unknown. This study investigated the relationship between phosphorylated tau lesions and cognitive function in 31 persons participating in the Religious Orders Study, a prospective, longitudinal clinicopathological study of aging and Alzheimer's disease.

Functional MR imaging of the human cervical spinal cord.

Background And Purpose: Although research with functional MR imaging of the brain has proliferated over the past 5 years, technical limitations, such as motion, chemical shift, and susceptibility artifacts, have impeded such research in the human spinal cord. The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether a reliable functional MR imaging signal can be elicited from the cervical spinal cord during simple motor activity.

Methods: Subjects performed three different motor tasks that activate different segments of the spinal cord.

Three-dimensional imaging of the craniofacial complex.

Orthodontic treatment requires the rearrangement of craniofacial complex elements in three planes of space, but oddly the diagnosis is done with two-dimensional images. Here we report on a three-dimensional (3D) imaging system that employs the stereoimaging method of structured light to capture the facial image. The images can be subsequently integrated with 3D cephalometric tracings derived from lateral and PA films (www.