scholarly journals Spinogenesis in spinal cord motor neurons following pharmacological lesions to the rat motor cortex

Author(s):  
N.I. Martínez-Torres ◽  
D. González-Tapia ◽  
M. Flores-Soto ◽  
N. Vázquez-Hernández ◽  
H. Salgado-Ceballos ◽  
...  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (22) ◽  
pp. 5304
Author(s):  
Jaclyn R. Wecht ◽  
William M. Savage ◽  
Grace O. Famodimu ◽  
Gregory A. Mendez ◽  
Jonah M. Levine ◽  
...  

Transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation (TSCS) has demonstrated potential to beneficially modulate spinal cord motor and autonomic circuitry. We are interested in pairing cervical TSCS with other forms of nervous system stimulation to enhance synaptic plasticity in circuits serving hand function. We use a novel configuration for cervical TSCS in which the anode is placed anteriorly over ~C4–C5 and the cathode posteriorly over ~T2–T4. We measured the effects of single pulses of TSCS paired with single pulses of motor cortex or median nerve stimulation timed to arrive at the cervical spinal cord at varying intervals. In 13 participants with and 15 participants without chronic cervical spinal cord injury, we observed that subthreshold TSCS facilitates hand muscle responses to motor cortex stimulation, with a tendency toward greater facilitation when TSCS is timed to arrive at cervical synapses simultaneously or up to 10 milliseconds after cortical stimulus arrival. Single pulses of subthreshold TSCS had no effect on the amplitudes of median H-reflex responses or F-wave responses. These findings support a model in which TSCS paired with appropriately timed cortical stimulation has the potential to facilitate convergent transmission between descending motor circuits, segmental afferents, and spinal motor neurons serving the hand. Studies with larger numbers of participants and repetitively paired cortical and spinal stimulation are needed.


2020 ◽  
pp. 45-90
Author(s):  
Hiroshi Shibasaki ◽  
Mark Hallett ◽  
Kailash P. Bhatia ◽  
Stephen G. Reich ◽  
Bettina Balint

Myoclonus is defined as brisk, shock-like, involuntary movements. Hiccup and nocturnal myoclonus are physiological myoclonus. Myoclonus is usually caused by abrupt, instantaneous contraction of muscles (positive myoclonus), but it can be also caused by transient interruption of the ongoing muscle contraction (negative myoclonus, asterixis). Myoclonus is usually irregular, but some myoclonus may occur at certain intervals (rhythmic or periodic myoclonus). Myoclonus is caused by excessive excitation of motor neurons in the motor cortex (cortical myoclonus, epileptic myoclonus), in the brainstem, or in the spinal cord (spinal myoclonus). Cortical myoclonus is commonly associated with convulsive seizures and is also called epileptic myoclonus. Syndromes characterized by myoclonus, generalized convulsion, and cognitive impairment are coined the progressive myoclonus epilepsies and are caused by multiple neurodegenerative diseases.


2005 ◽  
Vol 25 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. S452-S452
Author(s):  
Noritaka Murakami ◽  
Masahiro Sakurai ◽  
Takashi Horinouchi ◽  
Jun Ito ◽  
Shin Kurosawa ◽  
...  

Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 143
Author(s):  
Ganchimeg Davaa ◽  
Jin Young Hong ◽  
Tae Uk Kim ◽  
Seong Jae Lee ◽  
Seo Young Kim ◽  
...  

Exercise training is a traditional method to maximize remaining function in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI), but the exact mechanism by which exercise promotes recovery after SCI has not been identified; whether exercise truly has a beneficial effect on SCI also remains unclear. Previously, we showed that epigenetic changes in the brain motor cortex occur after SCI and that a treatment leading to epigenetic modulation effectively promotes functional recovery after SCI. We aimed to determine how exercise induces functional improvement in rats subjected to SCI and whether epigenetic changes are engaged in the effects of exercise. A spinal cord contusion model was established in rats, which were then subjected to treadmill exercise for 12 weeks. We found that the size of the lesion cavity and the number of macrophages were decreased more in the exercise group than in the control group after 12 weeks of injury. Immunofluorescence and DNA dot blot analysis revealed that levels of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) in the brain motor cortex were increased after exercise. Accordingly, the expression of ten-eleven translocation (Tet) family members (Tet1, Tet2, and Tet3) in the brain motor cortex also elevated. However, no macrophage polarization was induced by exercise. Locomotor function, including Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) and ladder scores, also improved in the exercise group compared to the control group. We concluded that treadmill exercise facilitates functional recovery in rats with SCI, and mechanistically epigenetic changes in the brain motor cortex may contribute to exercise-induced improvements.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. Sunshine ◽  
Antonino M. Cassarà ◽  
Esra Neufeld ◽  
Nir Grossman ◽  
Thomas H. Mareci ◽  
...  

AbstractRespiratory insufficiency is a leading cause of death due to drug overdose or neuromuscular disease. We hypothesized that a stimulation paradigm using temporal interference (TI) could restore breathing in such conditions. Following opioid overdose in rats, two high frequency (5000 Hz and 5001 Hz), low amplitude waveforms delivered via intramuscular wires in the neck immediately activated the diaphragm and restored ventilation in phase with waveform offset (1 Hz or 60 breaths/min). Following cervical spinal cord injury (SCI), TI stimulation via dorsally placed epidural electrodes uni- or bilaterally activated the diaphragm depending on current and electrode position. In silico modeling indicated that an interferential signal in the ventral spinal cord predicted the evoked response (left versus right diaphragm) and current-ratio-based steering. We conclude that TI stimulation can activate spinal motor neurons after SCI and prevent fatal apnea during drug overdose by restoring ventilation with minimally invasive electrodes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 572-583 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob A. Blum ◽  
Sandy Klemm ◽  
Jennifer L. Shadrach ◽  
Kevin A. Guttenplan ◽  
Lisa Nakayama ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Li ◽  
Heyangzi Li ◽  
Simin Cai ◽  
Shi Bai ◽  
Huabo Cai ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Recent studies demonstrated that autologous mitochondria derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) might be valuable in the treatment of spinal cord injury (SCI). However, the mechanisms of mitochondrial transfer from BMSCs to injured neurons are not fully understood. Methods We modified BMSCs by CD157, a cell surface molecule as a potential regulator mitochondria transfer, then transplanted to SCI rats and co-cultured with OGD injured VSC4.1 motor neuron. We detected extracellular mitochondrial particles derived from BMSCs by transmission electron microscope and measured the CD157/cyclic ADP-ribose signaling pathway-related protein expression by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting assay. The CD157 ADPR-cyclase activity and Fluo-4 AM was used to detect the Ca2+ signal. All data were expressed as mean ± SEM. Statistical analysis was analyzed by GraphPad Prism 6 software. Unpaired t-test was used for the analysis of two groups. Multiple comparisons were evaluated by one-way ANOVA or two-way ANOVA. Results CD157 on BMSCs was upregulated when co-cultured with injured VSC4.1 motor neurons. Upregulation of CD157 on BMSCs could raise the transfer extracellular mitochondria particles to VSC4.1 motor neurons, gradually regenerate the axon of VSC4.1 motor neuron and reduce the cell apoptosis. Transplantation of CD157-modified BMSCs at the injured sites could significantly improve the functional recovery, axon regeneration, and neuron apoptosis in SCI rats. The level of Ca2+ in CD157-modified BMSCs dramatically increased when objected to high concentration cADPR, ATP content, and MMP of BMSCs also increased. Conclusion The present results suggested that CD157 can regulate the production and transfer of BMSC-derived extracellular mitochondrial particles, enriching the mechanism of the extracellular mitochondrial transfer in BMSCs transplantation and providing a novel strategy to improve the stem cell treatment on SCI.


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