Mutant hypogonadal (hpg) mice with a truncated gene for the precursor to gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) show certain aspects of recovery of reproductive function after receiving grafts of normal preoptic area into the third ventricle. We have previously shown that GnRH neurons from within the grafts can innervate the appropriate neural-hemal target in the host. To determine if in turn these exogenously derived neurons receive a synaptic input comparable to the GnRH neurons in the normal animal we have now carried out a quantitative ultrastructural analysis to compare the synaptic input to GnRH neurons in the normal preoptic area and in the grafts. In almost all cases GnRH cells or dendrites in normal brains and within the grafts received a synaptic input. In normal animals, input to GnRH dendritic profiles was significantly greater (P less than 0.001) than to the somatic plasma membrane and this trend was also observed within the grafts though the difference was not statistically significant. In addition, no statistically significant difference was found between the input to GnRH structures within the grafts and in normal preoptic area. However, a substantial variability in input among grafted animals was evident which was not observed in normal animals. The sources of variability within the grafts are discussed and we suggest that the deficiencies and differences that exist in regulation of gonadotropin secretion among grafted hpg animals may be reflected in aberrant synaptic input.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0006-8993(88)91635-6 | DOI Listing |
Pharmacol Res
January 2025
Gill Institute for Neuroscience; Dept. of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405. Electronic address:
Δ-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the chief psychoactive ingredient of cannabis, acts in the brain primarily via cannabinoid CB1 receptors. These receptors are implicated in several forms of synaptic plasticity - depolarization-induced suppression of excitation (DSE), metabotropic suppression of excitation (MSE), long term depression (LTD) and activation-dependent desensitization. Cultured autaptic hippocampal neurons express all of these, illustrating the rich functional and temporal heterogeneity of CB1 at a single set of synapses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNature
January 2025
Department of Neuroscience and Mahoney Institute for Neurosciences, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Glioblastoma (GBM) infiltrates the brain and can be synaptically innervated by neurons, which drives tumor progression. Synaptic inputs onto GBM cells identified so far are largely short-range and glutamatergic. The extent of GBM integration into the brain-wide neuronal circuitry remains unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSubcell Biochem
January 2025
Facultad de Medicina y Ciencia, Universidad San Sebastián, Santiago, Chile.
The brain plays a vital role in maintaining homeostasis and effective interaction with the environment, shaped by genetic and environmental factors throughout neurodevelopment and maturity. While genetic components dictate initial neurodevelopment stages, epigenetics-specifically neuroepigenetics-modulates gene expression in response to environmental influences, allowing for brain adaptability and plasticity. This interplay is particularly evident in neuropathologies like Rett syndrome and CDKL5 deficiency syndrome, where disruptions in neuroepigenetic processes underline significant cognitive and motor impairments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurr Biol
January 2025
Department of Neuroscience, Physiology & Pharmacology, UCL, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK. Electronic address:
Animals construct diverse behavioral repertoires by moving a limited number of body parts with varied kinematics and patterns of coordination. There is evidence that distinct movements can be generated by changes in activity dynamics within a common pool of motoneurons or by selectively engaging specific subsets of motoneurons in a task-dependent manner. However, in most cases, we have an incomplete understanding of the patterns of motoneuron activity that generate distinct actions and of how upstream premotor circuits select and assemble such motor programs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFeNeuro
January 2025
Department of Neuroscience, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
High-frequency stimulation (HFS)-induced long-term potentiation (LTP) is generally regarded as a homosynaptic Hebbian-type LTP, where synaptic changes are thought to occur at the synapses that project from the stimulation site and terminate onto the neurons at the recording site. In this study, we first investigated HFS-induced LTP on urethane-anesthetized rats and found that cortical HFS enhances neural responses at the recording site through the strengthening of local connectivity with nearby neurons at the stimulation site, rather than through synaptic strengthening at the recording site. This enhanced local connectivity at the stimulation site leads to increased output propagation, resulting in signal potentiation at the recording site.
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