Local interneurons in the murine visual thalamus have diverse receptive fields and can provide feature selective inhibition to relay cells.

By influencing the type and quality of information that relay cells transmit, local interneurons in thalamus have a powerful impact on cortex. To define the sensory features that these inhibitory neurons encode, we mapped receptive fields of optogenetically identified cells in the murine dorsolateral geniculate nucleus. Although few in number, local interneurons had diverse types of receptive fields, like their counterpart relay cells.

A transducible nuclear/nucleolar protein, mLLP, regulates neuronal morphogenesis and synaptic transmission.

Cell-permeable proteins are emerging as unconventional regulators of signal transduction and providing a potential for therapeutic applications. However, only a few of them are identified and studied in detail. We identify a novel cell-permeable protein, mouse LLP homolog (mLLP), and uncover its roles in regulating neural development.

Economic Impact of Atopic Dermatitis in Korean Patients.

Background: Atopic dermatitis is a global public health concern owing to its increasing prevalence and socioeconomic burden. However, few studies have assessed the economic impact of atopic dermatitis in Korea.

Objective: We conducted a cost analysis of atopic dermatitis and evaluated its economic impacts on individual annual disease burden, quality of life, and changes in medical expenses with respect to changes in health related-quality of life.

Effects of PI3Kγ overexpression in the hippocampus on synaptic plasticity and spatial learning.

Previous studies have shown that a family of phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3Ks) plays pivotal roles in the brain; in particular, we previously reported that knockout of the γ isoform of PI3K (PI3Kγ) in mice impaired synaptic plasticity and reduced behavioral flexibility. To further examine the role of PI3Kγ in synaptic plasticity and hippocampus-dependent behavioral tasks we overexpressed p110γ, the catalytic subunit of PI3Kγ, in the hippocampal CA1 region. We found that the overexpression of p110γ impairs NMDA receptor-dependent long-term depression (LTD) and hippocampus-dependent spatial learning in the Morris water maze (MWM) task.

Effect of Food Deprivation on a Delayed Nonmatch-to-place T-maze Task.

Food deprivation can affect performance on difficult cognitive task, such as the delayed nonmatch-to-place T-maze task (DNMT). The importance of food deprivation on maintaining high motivation for DNMT task has been emphasized, but not many studies have investigated the optimal conditions for depriving rodents to maximize performance. Establishing appropriate conditions for food deprivation is necessary to maintain DNMT task motivation.

Mind bomb-1 is an essential modulator of long-term memory and synaptic plasticity via the Notch signaling pathway.

Background: Notch signaling is well recognized as a key regulator of the neuronal fate during embryonic development, but its function in the adult brain is still largely unknown. Mind bomb-1 (Mib1) is an essential positive regulator in the Notch pathway, acting non-autonomously in the signal-sending cells. Therefore, genetic ablation of Mib1 in mature neuron would give valuable insight to understand the cell-to-cell interaction between neurons via Notch signaling for their proper function.

Grape seed proanthocyanidin extract inhibits glutamate-induced cell death through inhibition of calcium signals and nitric oxide formation in cultured rat hippocampal neurons.

Background: Proanthocyanidin is a polyphenolic bioflavonoid with known antioxidant activity. Some flavonoids have a modulatory effect on [Ca²⁺]i. Although proanthocyanidin extract from blueberries reportedly affects Ca²⁺ buffering capacity, there are no reports on the effects of proanthocyanidin on glutamate-induced [Ca²⁺]i or cell death.

Prognosis of heart failure patients with reduced and preserved ejection fraction and coexistent chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Aims: The long-term prognosis of patients with heart failure with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (HFPEF) and coexistent chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has not been previously investigated. The primary aim of this study was to determine whether the long-term prognosis of HFPEF patients with COPD differs from that of heart failure patients with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (HFREF) and COPD. The secondary aim was to identify independent predictors of event-free survival in patients with HF and COPD.