Prelimbic cortex-nucleus accumbens core projection positively regulates itch and itch-related aversion.

Itch is one of the most common clinical symptoms in patients with diseases of the skin, liver, or kidney, and it strongly triggers aversive emotion and scratching behavior. Previous studies have confirmed the role of the prelimbic cortex (Prl) and the nucleus accumbens core (NAcC), which are reward and motivation regulatory centers, in the regulation of itch. However, it is currently unclear whether the Prl-NAcC projection, an important pathway connecting these two brain regions, is involved in the regulation of itch and its associated negative emotions.

The Anterior Insula and its Projection to the Prelimbic Cortex are Involved in the Regulation of 5-HT-Induced Itch.

Itch is an unpleasant sensation that urges people and animals to scratch. Neuroimaging studies on itch have yielded extensive correlations with diverse cortical and subcortical regions, including the insular lobe. However, the role and functional specificity of the insular cortex (IC) and its subdivisions in itch mediation remains unclear.

Dysgranular retrosplenial cortex modulates histaminergic and nonhistaminergic itch processing.

Itch is an unpleasant sensation followed by an intense desire to scratch. Previous researches have advanced our understanding about the role of anterior cingulate cortex and prelimbic cortex in itch modulation, whereas little is known about the effects of retrosplenial cortex (RSC) during this process. Here we firstly confirmed that the neuronal activity of dysgranular RSC (RSCd) is significantly elevated during itch-scratching processing through c-Fos immunohistochemistry and fiber photometry recording.

Differential roles of prelimbic and anterior cingulate cortical region in the modulation of histaminergic and non-histaminergic itch.

Itch is an unpleasant sensation that evokes a desire to scratch. Itch processing in the peripheral and spinal cord has been studied extensively, but the mechanism of itch in the central nervous system is still unclear. Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and prelimbic cortex (Prl), two subregions of the prefrontal cortex closely related to emotion and motivation, have been reported to be activated during itching in a series of functional imaging studies.

Insight into the nitrogen accumulation in urban center river from functional genes and bacterial community.

Along with urbanization, the intensified nitrogen pollution in urban rivers and the form of black-odor rivers has become one of the biggest concerns. Better understanding of the nitrogen transformations and microbial mechanisms occurring within urban rivers could help to manage their water quality. In this study, pollution characteristics, potential nitrogen removal rate, composition and function of bacterial community, and abundance of functional genes associated with nitrogen transformation were comparatively investigated in a typical urban river (FC) and a suburban river (LH).

[Removal of Nitrogen and Phosphorus from Water by Biomass Carbon of Aquatic Plants].

In the bioremediation of eutrophic water, a large number of aquatic plants will be produced. How to continue the reasonable disposition is the question that needs to be solved. In this paper, biomass carbon was prepared from aquatic plants, and the adsorption capacity of the biomass carbon on nitrogen and phosphorus in water was improved by magnesium modification.

Reevaluating the ability of cerebellum in associative motor learning.

It has been well established that the cerebellum and its associated circuitry constitute the essential neuronal system for both delay and trace classical eyeblink conditioning (DEC and TEC). However, whether the cerebellum is sufficient to independently modulate the DEC, and TEC with a shorter trace interval remained controversial. Here, we used direct optogenetic stimulation of mossy fibers in the middle cerebellar peduncle (MCP) as a conditioned stimulus (CS) replacement for the peripheral CS (eg, a tone CS or a light CS) paired with a periorbital shock unconditioned stimulus (US) to examine the ability of the cerebellum to learn the DEC and the TEC with various trace intervals.

Optogenetic Inhibition of Medial Prefrontal Cortex-Pontine Nuclei Projections During the Stimulus-free Trace Interval Impairs Temporal Associative Motor Learning.

The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is closely involved in many higher-order cognitive functions, including learning to associate temporally discontiguous events (called temporal associative learning). However, direct evidence for the role of mPFC and the neural pathway underlying modulation of temporal associative motor learning is sparse. Here, we show that optogenetic inhibition of the mPFC or its axon terminals at the pontine nuclei (PN) during trace intervals or whole trial period significantly impaired the trace eyeblink conditioning (TEC), but had no significant effects on TEC during the conditioned stimulus or intertrial interval period.

Medial Prefrontal Cortex-Pontine Nuclei Projections Modulate Suboptimal Cue-Induced Associative Motor Learning.

Diverse and powerful mechanisms have evolved to enable organisms to modulate learning and memory under a variety of survival conditions. Cumulative evidence has shown that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is closely involved in many higher-order cognitive functions. However, when and how the medial PFC (mPFC) modulates associative motor learning remains largely unknown.

NME8 rs2718058 polymorphism with Alzheimer's disease risk: a replication and meta-analysis.

Recently, a large meta-analysis of five genome wide association studies (GWAS) has identified that a novel single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs2718058, adjacent to gene NME8 on chromosome 7p14.1, was associated with late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) in Caucasians. However, the effect of rs2718058 on other populations remains unclear.

The Role of Cdk5 in Alzheimer's Disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is known as the most fatal chronic neurodegenerative disease in adults along with progressive loss of memory and other cognitive function disorders. Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5), a unique member of the cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdks), is reported to intimately associate with the process of the pathogenesis of AD. Cdk5 is of vital importance in the development of CNS and neuron movements such as neuronal migration and differentiation, synaptic functions, and memory consolidation.

Optogenetic stimulation of mPFC pyramidal neurons as a conditioned stimulus supports associative learning in rats.

It is generally accepted that the associative learning occurs when a behaviorally neutral conditioned stimulus (CS) is paired with an aversive unconditioned stimulus (US) in close temporal proximity. Eyeblink conditioning (EBC) is a simple form of associative learning for motor responses. Specific activation of a population of cells may be an effective and sufficient CS for establishing EBC.

Transfer of classical eyeblink conditioning with electrical stimulation of mPFC or tone as conditioned stimulus in guinea pigs.

Learning with a stimulus from one sensory modality can facilitate subsequent learning with a new stimulus from a different sensory modality. To date, the characteristics and mechanism of this phenomenon named transfer effect still remain ambiguous. Our previous work showed that electrical stimulation of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) as a conditioned stimulus (CS) could successfully establish classical eyeblink conditioning (EBC).