The Absence of the Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid 1 Directly Impacts on the Expression and Localization of the Endocannabinoid System in the Mouse Hippocampus.

The transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) is a non-selective ligand-gated cation channel involved in synaptic transmission, plasticity, and brain pathology. In the hippocampal dentate gyrus, TRPV1 localizes to dendritic spines and dendrites postsynaptic to excitatory synapses in the molecular layer (ML). At these same synapses, the cannabinoid CB receptor (CBR) activated by exogenous and endogenous cannabinoids localizes to the presynaptic terminals.

Dopaminergic denervation impairs cortical motor and associative/limbic information processing through the basal ganglia and its modulation by the CB1 receptor.

The basal ganglia (BG) are involved in cognitive/motivational functions in addition to movement control. Thus, BG segregated circuits, the sensorimotor (SM) and medial prefrontal (mPF) circuits, process different functional domains, such as motor and cognitive/motivational behaviours, respectively. With a high presence in the BG, the CB1 cannabinoid receptor modulates BG circuits.

Endocannabinoid long-term depression revealed at medial perforant path excitatory synapses in the dentate gyrus.

The endocannabinoid system modulates synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus, but a link between long-term synaptic plasticity and the type 1 cannabinoid (CB) receptor at medial perforant path (MPP) synapses remains elusive. Here, immuno-electron microscopy in adult mice showed that ∼26% of the excitatory synaptic terminals in the middle 1/3 of the dentate molecular layer (DML) contained CB receptors, and field excitatory postsynaptic potentials evoked by MPP stimulation were inhibited by CB receptor activation. In addition, MPP stimulation at 10 Hz for 10 min triggered CB receptor-dependent excitatory long-term depression (eCB-eLTD) at MPP synapses of wild-type mice but not on CB-knockout mice.

Localization of the cannabinoid type-1 receptor in subcellular astrocyte compartments of mutant mouse hippocampus.

Astroglial type-1 cannabinoid (CB ) receptors are involved in synaptic transmission, plasticity and behavior by interfering with the so-called tripartite synapse formed by pre- and post-synaptic neuronal elements and surrounding astrocyte processes. However, little is known concerning the subcellular distribution of astroglial CB receptors. In particular, brain CB receptors are mostly localized at cells' plasmalemma, but recent evidence indicates their functional presence in mitochondrial membranes.

Conserved cellular distribution of the glutamate receptors GluA2/3, mGlu1a and mGlu2/3 in isolated cultures of rat cerebellum.

To what extent the intrinsic glutamatergic system of the cerebellum is able to keep normal features in the absence of mossy and climbing fibres, is at present not known. To answer this question, immunocytochemistry for light and high resolution electron microscopy was used to reveal the cellular and subcellular distribution of glutamate receptors in isolated cerebellar cultures. The localization of the ionotropic glutamate receptor subunits GluA2/3 and the metabotropic glutamate (mGlu) 1a and mGlu2/3 receptor subtypes was carried out in 0 to 9-day-old rat parasagittal slices developed in vitro for 20-40 days.

Plasticity of basal ganglia neurocircuitries following perinatal asphyxia: effect of nicotinamide.

The potential neuroprotection of nicotinamide on the consequences of perinatal asphyxia was investigated with triple organotypic cultures. Perinatal asphyxia was induced in vivo by immersing foetuses-containing uterine horns removed from ready-to-deliver rats into a water bath for 20 min. Sibling caesarean-delivered pups were used as controls.

Electrophysiological characterization of substantia nigra dopaminergic neurons in partially lesioned rats: effects of subthalamotomy and levodopa treatment.

Progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta is the main histopathological characteristic of Parkinson's disease. We studied the electrophysiological characteristics of the spontaneous activity of substantia nigra pars compacta dopaminergic neurons in rats with a partial, unilateral, 6-hydroxydopamine lesion of the nigrostriatal pathway. In addition, the effects of subthalamotomy and prolonged levodopa treatment on the activity of dopaminergic neurons were investigated.

Cerebral blood flow and morphological changes after hypoxic-ischaemic injury in preterm lambs.

Aim: To evaluate the effect of cerebral hypoxia-ischaemia induced by partial occlusion of the umbilical cord on the relationship of the regional cerebral blood flow and the cerebral cell death in near-term fetal lambs.

Methods: Fifteen near-term lambs were assigned to two hypoxic-ischaemic groups with or without life support (3 h), and a healthy one. Hypoxia-ischaemia was induced by partial occlusion of the umbilical cord (60 min).

Characterization of noradrenaline release in the locus coeruleus of freely moving awake rats by in vivo microdialysis.

Rationale: The origin and regulation of noradrenaline (NA) in the locus coeruleus (LC) is unknown.

Objectives: The neurochemical features of NA overflow (nerve impulse dependence, neurotransmitter synthesis, vesicle storage, reuptake, alpha2-adrenoceptor-mediated regulation) were characterized in the LC.

Methods: Brain microdialysis was performed in awake rats.

Widespread Horizontal Connections Arising from Layer 5/6 Border Inverted Cells in Rabbit Visual Cortex.

Herein we describe the inverted cells [defined as those projection neurons having a major dendritic shaft abpially oriented (Bueno-López et al., Eur. J.

Targets and Laminar Distribution of Projection Neurons with 'Inverted' Morphology in Rabbit Cortex.

This study examines the axonal projections of so-called inverted pyramids and other neurons with their major dendritic shaft oriented in the direction of the white matter ('inverted cells') in the adult rabbit cortex. Single injections of horseradish peroxidase wheat germ agglutinin were made into cortical or subcortical sites. The resulting retrograde labelling in the cortex was analysed and the distribution across areas and layers of inverted cells contributing to each of these projections was estimated.