Septal networks: relevance to theta rhythm, epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease

Information processing and storing by brain networks requires a highly coordinated operation of multiple neuronal groups. The function of septal neurons is to modulate the activity of archicortical (e.g. hippocampal) and neocortical circuits. This modulation is necessary for the development and normal occurrence of rhythmical cortical activities that control the processing of sensory information and memory functions. Damage or degeneration of septal neurons results in abnormal information processing in cortical circuits and consequent brain dysfunction. Septal neurons not only provide the optimal levels of excitatory background to cortical structures, but they may also inhibit the occurrence of abnormal excitability states.     

鼻内镜下鼻中隔软骨、筛骨垂直板或耳屏软骨修补鼻中隔穿孔

目的:探讨鼻内镜下应用颞肌筋膜包裹自体鼻中隔软骨、筛骨垂直板或耳屏软骨修补鼻中隔穿孔的临床疗效。方法:回顾性分析2007年8月至2014年8月我院17例行鼻内镜下鼻中隔穿孔修补术患者的临床资料,所有患者术前均行鼻内镜及副鼻窦CT检查,术中分别采用颞肌筋膜包裹自体鼻中隔软骨、筛骨垂直板或带软骨膜的自体耳屏软骨,形成骨性支架,修补鼻中隔穿孔。术后均予抗生素抗感染,并用碱性成纤维细胞生长因子凝胶涂抹创面,促进周边黏膜向穿孔处生长。结果:17例患者均一次修复成功,术后1~2月穿孔处被黏膜完全覆盖,鼻中隔正常解剖结构得以恢复,随访1~3年无再次穿孔,鼻中隔穿孔产生的临床症状术后改善明显。结论:鼻内镜下应用鼻中隔软骨、筛骨垂直板或耳屏软骨修补鼻中隔穿孔安全、有效、简便,值得推广。     

Forebrain implants of estradiol stimulate maternal nest-building in ovariectomized rabbits

In rabbits, estradiol and progesterone (P) stimulate digging a maternal burrow while P withdrawal promotes straw-carrying. To investigate where such hormones act to regulate those activities, ovariectomized rabbits were implanted with estradiol benzoate (EB; Experiment 1) in the nucleus accumbens (ACC), the principal nucleus of the medial preoptic area or the dorsal hippocampus. Implants were combined with s.c. P injections. In Experiment 2, P (in crystals or dissolved in oil) was implanted in the same regions as in Experiment 1, combined with s.c. injections of EB. Implants of EB into the ACC or MPOA-bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) stimulated significant digging across the period of P injections in 72% and 67% of females, respectively. Neither EB implants in the hippocampus nor cholesterol implants in the MPOA-BNST were effective in eliciting digging. P withdrawal provoked a rapid decline of digging in all animals; it also stimulated straw-carrying in 53% of females implanted with EB in the MPOA-BNST. P implants failed to stimulate digging in most females injected with EB. Removal of P crystals did not promote straw-carrying. Results support an action of estradiol on the ACC and MPOA-BNST to promote digging while only the MPOA-BNST is involved in stimulating straw-carrying. The failure of P implants to stimulate digging or straw-carrying in EB-treated females suggests that the stimulation of other or additional brain areas by P is necessary to fully activate maternal nest-building.     

Compositional changes of human mitral valves with aging

To elucidate compositional changes of the mitral valve with aging, the authors investigated the relationships among element contents in the mitral valves. The subjects consisted of 10 men and 15 women, ranging in age from 65 to 102 yr. After the ordinary dissection, mitral valves, lower parts of the interventricular septa, and terminal crests containing the sinoatrial nodes were resected and the element contents were determined by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry. The interventricular septa and sinoatrial nodes were used to compare with the mitral valves. With regard to the mitral valve, it was found that extremely significant correlations were found among the contents of Ca, P, Mg, and Na, but no significant correlations were found between the contents of S and elements such as Ca, P, or Mg. Regarding the interventricular septum, it was found that an extremely significant correlation was found between P and S contents; very significant correlations were found between Ca and Mg contents and between Mg and S contents; and a significant correlation was found between P and Mg contents. However, no significant correlation was found between Ca and P contents in the interventricular septa. In the terminal crest containing the sinoatrial node, significant correlations were found among the contents of Ca, P, Mg, and S. The present study revealed that with regard to the relationships among element contents, the compositional change of the mitral valve was intermediate between those of the thoracic aorta and the interventricular septum.     

Fine-structural and morphometrical studies on the segmental septa of the giant fibers in the earthworm,Eisenia foetida

Summary The fine structure of junctional specializations on the segmental septa in the median and lateral giant fibers of the earthworm (Eisenia foetida) was examined. Eight morphologically different septal domains were identified; a gap junction, a junction with hemispherical hollow structures, a chemical synapse-like junction, intermediate type and punctum adherens type junctions, a junction with adjoining vesicular layers, an area flanked by flattened membranous sacs, a non specialized area, and an area consisting of widely separated membranes with interposed glial processes. The area of each domain was measured by a cytometrical technique using quasi-serial sections. The gap junction occupied 3% and 0.2% of the septal area of the median and lateral giant fibers, respectively. Junctions with hemisperical hollow structures, characteristic of the earthworm giant fibers, occupied 2.5% and 13.9% of the median and lateral giant fibers, respectively. Various membrane domains except the gap junction, the junction with hemispherical hollow structures, and the chemical synapse-like junction accounted for similar proportional areas in both median and lateral giant fibers.The functional implications of these junctional specializations, especially the gap junction, are discussed.     

Functional Principles of Posterior Septal Inputs to the Medial Habenula

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BRN3-type POU Homeobox Genes Maintain the Identity of Mature Postmitotic Neurons in Nematodes and Mice

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Forebrain Control of Behaviorally Driven Social Orienting in Zebrafish

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The role of the medial septum in the acoustic trachea of the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus

In the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus, it is demonstrated that the medial septum in the prothoracic trachea of the auditory system plays an important role in shaping the directional sensitivity of the ear.After perforation of the medial septum, the directional characteristic of intact animals, showing a mean right-to-left difference in sensitivity of 14 dB, becomes more omnidirectional with a mean right-to-left difference of only 7 dB. Correspondingly, the rate of change in auditory sensitivity for a sound source moving from frontal to contralateral is reduced to 0.78 dB/10° versus 1.5 dB/10° in intact animals (Figs. 2, 3).A computer simulation of phonotaxis based on these findings predicts a reduction in phonotactic performance in animals with a perforated septum. This prediction is in good quantitative agreement with experimental data (Fig. 4) and emphasizes the importance of an intact septum for effective phonotaxis in crickets.     

Effects of early embryonic exposure to genistein on male copulatory behavior and vasotocin system of Japanese quail

Genistein is a phytoestrogen, particularly abundant in soybeans that can bind estrogen receptors and sex hormone binding proteins, exerting both estrogenic and antiestrogenic activity. In this study we used the Japanese quail embryo as a test end-point to investigate the effects of early embryonic exposure to genistein on male copulatory behavior and on vasotocin parvocellular system. Both differentiate by the organizational effects of estradiol during development and may therefore represent an optimal model to study the effects of xenoestrogens. We injected two doses of genistein (100 and 1000 microg) into the yolk of 3-day-old Japanese quail eggs. Other eggs were treated with either 25 microg of estradiol benzoate or sesame oil as positive and negative controls. At the age of 6 weeks, behavioral tests revealed a significant decrease of all aspects of copulatory behavior (in comparison to the control group) in estradiol-treated birds. In contrast, genistein-treated animals demonstrated various degrees of decrease in the mean frequencies of some aspects of the sexual behavior. The computerized analysis of vasotocin innervation in medial preoptic, stria terminalis and lateral septum nuclei revealed a statistically significant decreased immunoreactivity in treated animals compared to control ones. These results demonstrate that genistein, similarly to estradiol, has an organizational effect on quail parvocellular vasotocin system and on copulatory behavior. In conclusion, present results confirm, in this avian model, that embryonic exposure to phytoestrogens may have life-long effects on sexual differentiation of brain structures and behaviors.