Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
February 2024
One of the very fundamental attributes for telencephalic neural computation in mammals involves network activities oscillating beyond the initial trigger. The continuing and automated processing of transient inputs shall constitute the basis of cognition and intelligence but may lead to neuropsychiatric disorders such as epileptic seizures if carried so far as to engross part of or the whole telencephalic system. From a conventional view of the basic design of the telencephalic local circuitry, the GABAergic interneurons (INs) and glutamatergic pyramidal neurons (PNs) make negative feedback loops which would regulate the neural activities back to the original state.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOne of the most promising strategies for the management of plastic waste is microbial biodegradation, but efficient degraders for many types of plastics are still lacking, including those for polystyrene (PS). Genomics has emerged as a powerful tool for mining environmental microbes that may have the ability to degrade different types of plastics. In this study, we use 16S rRNA sequencing to analyze the microbiomes for multiple PS samples collected from sites with different vegetation in Taiwan to reveal potential common properties between species that exhibit growth advantages on PS surfaces.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Purpose: Anticonvulsants targeting K channels have not been clinically available, although neuronal hyperexcitability in seizures could be suppressed by activation of K channels. Voltage-gated A-type K channel (A-channel) inhibitors may be prescribed for diseases of neuromuscular junction but could cause seizures. Consistently, genetic loss of function of A-channels may also cause seizures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) is an epileptic encephalopathy frequently associated with multiple types of seizures. The classical Na channel inhibitors are in general ineffective against the seizures in LGS. Rufinamide is a new Na channel inhibitor, but approved for the treatment of LGS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEpileptic seizures are automatic, excessive, and synchronized neuronal activities originating from many brain regions especially the amygdala, the allocortices and neocortices. This may reflect a shared principle for network organization and signaling in these telencephalic structures. In theory, the automaticity of epileptic discharges may stem from spontaneously active "oscillator" neurons equipped with intrinsic pacemaking conductances, or from a group of synaptically-connected collaborating "resonator" neurons.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEpileptic seizures constitute a common neurological disease primarily diagnosed by characteristic rhythms or waves in the local field potentials (LFPs) of cerebral cortices or electroencephalograms. With a basolateral amygdala (BLA) kindling model, we found that the dominant frequency of BLA oscillations is in the delta range (1-5 Hz) in both normal and seizure conditions. Multi-unit discharges are increased with higher seizure staging but remain phase-locked to the delta waves in LFPs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Purpose: Perampanel is a newly approved anticonvulsant uniquely targeting AMPA receptors, which mediate the most abundant form of excitatory synaptic transmission in the brain. However, the network mechanism underlying the anti-epileptic effect of the AMPAergic inhibition remains to be explored.
Experimental Approach: The mechanism of perampanel action was studied with the basolateral amygdala network containing pyramidal-inhibitory neuronal resonators in seizure models of 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) and electrical kindling.