scholarly journals Sphingolipid metabolism – an ambiguous regulator of autophagy in the brain

2018 ◽  
Vol 399 (8) ◽  
pp. 837-850 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerhild van Echten-Deckert ◽  
Shah Alam
Keyword(s):  
Critical Factor ◽  
Waste Recycling ◽  
The Body ◽  
Sphingolipid Metabolism ◽  
Neuronal Function ◽  
Brain Physiology ◽  
Neuronal Membranes ◽  
The One ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Complex Sphingolipids

Abstract In mammals, the brain exhibits the highest lipid content in the body next to adipose tissue. Complex sphingolipids are characteristic compounds of neuronal membranes. Vital neural functions including information flux and transduction occur along these membranes. It is therefore not surprising that neuronal function and survival is dependent on the metabolism of these lipids. Autophagy is a critical factor for the survival of post-mitotic neurons. On the one hand, it fulfils homeostatic and waste-recycling functions and on the other hand, it constitutes an effective strategy to eliminate harmful proteins that cause neuronal death. A growing number of experimental data indicate that several sphingolipids as well as enzymes catalyzing their metabolic transformations efficiently but very differently affect neuronal autophagy and hence survival. This review attempts to elucidate the roles and mechanisms of sphingolipid metabolism with regard to the regulation of autophagy and its consequences for brain physiology and pathology.

SPECIAL REVIEWS

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1951 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-293
Author(s):  
CHARLES C. CHAPPLE
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Caloric Content ◽  
Maturation Factor ◽  
Drug Actions ◽  
The Common ◽  
Cellular Permeability ◽  
The One ◽  
External Stimuli ◽  
The Brain

A study has been made of the known phenomena which affect the biologic organism. Certain correlations have been found and other correlations are logically inferred. The common grounds of anatomic structures, the anatomic responses to endocrine stimuli, the interrelationships and interdependencies of the endocrines and external stimuli have been followed and have been related to cellular permeability and hyaluronic acid. Cellular phases, including the rhythmic alternations in physiologic functions, have been delineated and their importance stressed. Further, the probability is advanced that this rhythmicity originates physiologically in the brain but that the brain itself is capable of receiving transmissions from within and without the body, and disseminating them, again rhythmically, in normal or altered amplitude and frequency. Further experimental evidence of these correlations and their practical extrapolations into drug actions and the therapy of infections and metabolic disease will be reported and will include clinical, animal and in vitro studies. At present, the following conclusions seem justified: 1. No component of the body is capable of independent action. 2. Action in any component is reflected, according to its magnitude and directness of application, upon all the body. 3. All such actions are mediated by the brain. 4. There is a dynamic, rhythmic cyclicity in physiologic action which can be altered in amplitude and frequency. 5. These rhythms are alternations of cellular tenseness and relaxation. 6. The concomitants of the tense phase are compactness, impermeability, electric conductivity and contraction of all cells, and these characteristics might be described collectively as the factors operative in maturing the cell. The concomitants of the relaxed phase are laxness, permeability, electric resistance and expansion of all cells and are factors of growth. 7. The phase of tenseness is accompanied by an increase in certain hormonal activities and that of relaxation by an increase in others. 8. The hormones may be causes of the phase or the results of it. 9. Infectious disease cannot act as an extraneous agent capable of bringing its own engine into such a highly integrated mechanism but must act on the body through its ability to affect one of the body's mechanisms. 10. Drugs must act through the same channels available to disease. 11. Foods may contain, in addition to their caloric content, components capable of stimulating either the phase of cellular expansion or cellular compaction, particularly foods from the reproductive systems of plants or animals (milk, eggs, cereal, for example). 12. Vitamins each stimulate one phase and should be evaluated in terms of positive actions. 13. Inherent growth and maturation factors are not of fixed capacity in an individual but beyond certain limits must be supplied him or applied to him constantly. 14. The hormone most manifest in the tense phase is estrogen and so may be considered the maturation factor, and the one most manifest in the phase of relaxation or cell division is progesterone, which may be considered the growth factor.

scholarly journals Monosodium Glutamate in the Diet Does Not Raise Brain Glutamate Concentrations or Disrupt Brain Functions

2018 ◽  
Vol 73 (Suppl. 5) ◽  
pp. 43-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
John D. Fernstrom
Keyword(s):  
Monosodium Glutamate ◽  
Safety Evaluation ◽  
The Body ◽  
Neuronal Function ◽  
Excitatory Neurotransmitter ◽  
Brain Functions ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Experimental Findings ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Amino Acid Glutamate

The non-essential amino acid glutamate participates in numerous metabolic pathways in the body. It also performs important physiologic functions, which include a sensory role as one of the basic tastes (as monosodium glutamate [MSG]), and a role in neuronal function as the dominant excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. Its pleasant taste (as MSG) has led to its inclusion as a flavoring agent in foods for centuries. Glutamate’s neurotransmitter role was discovered only in the last 60 years. Its inclusion in foods has necessitated its safety evaluation, which has raised concerns about its transfer into the blood ultimately increasing brain glutamate levels, thereby causing functional disruptions because it is a neurotransmitter. This concern, originally raised almost 50 years ago, has led to an extensive series of scientific studies to examine this issue, conducted primarily in rodents, non-human primates, and humans. The key findings have been that (a) the ingestion of MSG in the diet does not produce appreciable increases in glutamate concentrations in blood, except when given experimentally in amounts vastly in excess of normal intake levels; and (b) the blood-brain barrier effectively restricts the passage of glutamate from the blood into the brain, such that brain glutamate levels only rise when blood glutamate concentrations are raised experimentally via non-physiologic means. These and related discoveries explain why the ingestion of MSG in the diet does not lead to an increase in brain glutamate concentrations, and thus does not produce functional disruptions in brain. This article briefly summarizes key experimental findings that evaluate whether MSG in the diet poses a threat to brain function.

scholarly journals QUEM ESTÁ NO COMANDO? NEUROCIÊNCIA, RESSONÂNCIA E DESAFIOS PARA A TEOLOGIA

2017 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 611
Author(s):  
Rudolf Von Sinner
Keyword(s):  
Human Condition ◽  
The Body ◽  
Christian Theology ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Second Person ◽  
Third Person ◽  
Ancient Problem ◽  
The One ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Brain

RESUMO: A relação entre corpo e alma ou entre corpo, alma e espírito é um pro­blema antigo da antropologia, inclusive na teologia cristã. A questão continua em pauta hoje diante de novas descobertas e teorias nas neurociências. Praticamente migrou para a discussão da relação entre cérebro e mente. Hoje é consenso bastante amplo que quem comanda o corpo é o cérebro. Se aceitarmos isto, quem está no comando do cérebro? Sou eu, em primeira pessoa, minha alma, minha mente? Ou seria “ele”, em terceira pessoa, nosso próprio cérebro me determinando? E como ficaria na segunda pessoa – o ser humano como estando em relação a Deus a quem o chama de “tu”? Querendo superar preconceitos contra uma neurociên­cia determinista e uma teologia despreocupada com a ciência – e estas próprias posições, onde são defendidas –, o presente artigo procura tratar da condição humana em sua liberdade sempre precária e tolhida. Recorrendo à abordagem neurobiológica e psiquiátrica de Joachim Bauer, argumenta pela importância das relações do ser humano com o outro, com Deus e com o mundo, numa forma de ressonância (Hartmut Rosa). ABSTRACT: The relationship between body and soul or between body, soul and spirit is an ancient problem of anthropology, and also of Christian theology. In view of present day discoveries and new neuroscientific theories, the issue poses itself afresh. It practically migrated to the discussion of the relationship between brain and mind. Today, there is ample consensus that it is the brain that is in charge of the body. If we accept that, then who is in charge of the brain? Is it me, in the first person, my soul, my mind? Or is it “him”, in the third person, our own brain that determines me? And how about the second person – the human being in its relationship with God whom it calls “you”? Striving to overcome prejudices against a deterministic neuroscience, on the one hand, and a theology indifferent to science – and, indeed, such positions, wherever they are held – the present article seeks to deal with the human condition in its freedom, always precarious and restrained. Referring to neurobiological and psychiatric insights from Joachim Bauer, it argues for the importance of the relationship of the human being with the other, with God and with the world, in a form of resonance (Hartmut Rosa).

William Croone’s theory of muscular contraction

1961 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 158-178 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Muscle Contraction ◽  
Muscular Contraction ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Other ◽  
First Person ◽  
Muscular Movement ◽  
The One ◽  
The Brain

In the mid-seventeenth century William Croone had been the earliest among his contemporaries to concern himself with muscular motion. Thus, much of the discussion on muscular movement in the period after 1664 is either a commentary upon Croone’s views or is derived from them, and his influence was thus widespread, especially on the Continent. The background to Croone’s own views is largely that of Greek physiology as represented in the works of Galen. The first person who had a theory of muscle contraction seems to have been Erasistratus. Galen says that Erasistratus of Chios (fl. 290 b.c.) considered that when a muscle is filled with pneuma its breadth increases while its length diminishes and for this reason it is contracted. (1) Galen himself was impressed by the contractility of muscle and by the fact that this contractility depends on the nerve arising from the spinal cord and entering the muscle, where it branches repeatedly and sends its branches into all parts of the muscle. If the nerve, entering the muscle, be cut or injured or merely compressed the muscle loses all movement and sensitivity. (2) Galen considered that a muscle is made up of fibres and flesh. (3) The fibres of the muscle are continuous with those of its tendons at either end. In the body of the muscle itself the fibres are spread apart by the flesh contained in the interspaces between them. Each of these continuous fibres extending through both the tendon and the muscle Galen considers to be made up of finer fibres—on the one hand of inert and insensitive fibres of the same kind as occur in ligaments and, on the other hand, of sensitive fibres which are simply fine extensions of the branches of the nerves. (4) Galen does not, however, seem to offer, as does Erasistratus any mechanism to account for muscle contraction. To Galen the muscle is simply moved by the motor faculty which comes from the brain.

scholarly journals Evaluation of ultrasonic cleaning process

2021 ◽  
pp. 117-123
Author(s):  
V Morkun ◽  
O Kravchenko
Keyword(s):  
Arrival Time ◽  
Critical Factor ◽  
Threshold Value ◽  
The Body ◽  
Cleaning Process ◽  
Set Point ◽  
Ultrasonic Cleaning ◽  
Spatially Distributed ◽  
The One ◽  
First Time

Purpose. To establish relationship between intensity of ultrasonic cleaning and an ultrasonic response fixed at a set point. To determine the influence of liquid contamination on this signal. To specify parameters of an ultrasonic signal to evaluate the course of cleaning a preset section of a body. To define limiting values indicating efficiency of ceasing the cleaning process. Methodology. The research is based on simulation of ultrasonic wave propagation in the heterogeneous environment and subsequent analysis of the signals by using software. Findings. Dependences are established to form evaluation of the course of the cleaning process by parameters of the ultrasonic response. It is found that both the bodys state and that of the liquid affect the ultrasonic response obtained by the sensor at the set point during ultrasonic cleaning. With high contamination (>30%) the state of the liquid becomes a critical factor for forming the signal of the ultrasonic response. With that, there is an abrupt reduction of threshold signal arrival time and increase in the main amplitude, which is to be one of indicators of ceasing the cleaning process in case of its inefficiency. With lower contamination, suspended contaminant particles only correct the signal to some extent without distorting it. There is a relationship between reduction of contamination, the arrival time of threshold signal, on the one hand, and the value of the main amplitude and the 2nd and 3rd-order nonlinearity coefficients, on the other hand. The arrival of the threshold value of the signal is the major parameter determining intensity of cleaning, i.e. reduction of contaminant thickness, which is determined by the value of the main amplitude of the signal and the 2nd and 3rd-order nonlinearity coefficients. Originality. For the first time, methods for evaluating the course of the ultrasonic cleaning process by analyzing ultrasonic responses at a specified point have been developed. Practical value. To consider spatial distribution of the ultrasonic cleaning process, its control is to be based on evaluating the bodys contamination in several preset points. To implement this, the character of dependences between changes in contamination of the body section and parameters of the fixed ultrasonic response is determined. Impacts are considered of suspended contaminant particles in the liquid on the signal analyzed. The observed relationship will provide the basis for building the spatially distributed control over ultrasonic cleaning considering the cleaned bodys state.

scholarly journals How Morphological Computation Shapes Integrated Information in Embodied Agents

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlotta Langer ◽  
Nihat Ay
Keyword(s):  
Information Integration ◽  
The Body ◽  
Information Flows ◽  
Morphological Computation ◽  
The One ◽  
Goal Directed Behavior ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Integrated Information Theory ◽  
Embodied Agent ◽  
Integrated Information

The Integrated Information Theory provides a quantitative approach to consciousness and can be applied to neural networks. An embodied agent controlled by such a network influences and is being influenced by its environment. This involves, on the one hand, morphological computation within goal directed action and, on the other hand, integrated information within the controller, the agent's brain. In this article, we combine different methods in order to examine the information flows among and within the body, the brain and the environment of an agent. This allows us to relate various information flows to each other. We test this framework in a simple experimental setup. There, we calculate the optimal policy for goal-directed behavior based on the “planning as inference” method, in which the information-geometric em-algorithm is used to optimize the likelihood of the goal. Morphological computation and integrated information are then calculated with respect to the optimal policies. Comparing the dynamics of these measures under changing morphological circumstances highlights the antagonistic relationship between these two concepts. The more morphological computation is involved, the less information integration within the brain is required. In order to determine the influence of the brain on the behavior of the agent it is necessary to additionally measure the information flow to and from the brain.

Hippocampal toxicity of metal base nanoparticles. Is there a relationship between nanoparticles and psychiatric disorders?

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abbas Mohammadipour ◽  
Mahmoud Abudayyak
Keyword(s):  
Psychiatric Disorders ◽  
Hippocampal Neurogenesis ◽  
The Body ◽  
Metal Base ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Present Information ◽  
Gene Expression Alteration ◽  
Neuro Inflammation ◽  
The One ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Metal base nanoparticles are widely produced all over the world and used in many fields and products such as medicine, electronics, cosmetics, paints, ceramics, toys, kitchen utensils and toothpastes. They are able to enter the body through digestive, respiratory, and alimentary systems. These nanoparticles can also cross the blood brain barrier, enter the brain and aggregate in the hippocampus. After entering the hippocampus, they induce oxidative stress, neuro-inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and gene expression alteration in hippocampal cells, which finally lead to neuronal apoptosis. Metal base nanoparticles can also affect hippocampal neurogenesis and synaptic plasticity that both of them play crucial role in memory and learning. On the one hand, hippocampal cells are severely vulnerable due to their high metabolic activity, and on the other hand, metal base nanoparticles have high potential to damage hippocampus through variety of mechanisms and affect its functions. This review discusses, in detail, nanoparticles’ detrimental effects on the hippocampus in cellular, molecular and functional levels to reveal that according to the present information, which types of nanoparticles have more potential to induce hippocampal toxicity and psychiatric disorders and which types should be more evaluated in the future studies.

scholarly journals A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW ON THE PREVALENCE OF MENTALLY CHALLENGED ADOLESCENTS IN INDIA AND THE EFFICACY OF DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS WITH HERBS ON COGNITIVE FUNCTION

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (Spl-1- GCSGD_2020) ◽  
Author(s):  
Manjula J ◽  
◽  
Karthiga K ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Cognitive Development ◽  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Body ◽  
Adaptive Behaviour ◽  
Omega 3 ◽  
Neuronal Membranes ◽  
The Brain

Health is the state of well-being in physical, social, spiritual, and mental health. Apart from physical health, mental health is of prime importance. The brain is one of the most complex organs in the body. The brain has multiple tasking abilities like learn, play, concentrate, remember and it helps in sustaining a clear mind. Brain comprises around 60% fat with omega 3 fatty acid and Docosahexaenoic acid, these two supports the normal neuronal membranes. The modern diet lacking in omega 3 and DHA may harm cognitive development. In the world, India stands second place with a population of 135.26 crores. India comprises one fifth of the adolescent population that is around 27.05% of the total population. According to the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, “Mental retardation is a disability characterized by significant limitations both in intellectual functioning and in adaptive behaviour. Mental health in adolescents is neglected and it increased morbidity and mortality during recent years. Cognitive development in adolescence occurs in three main areas. The three areas are advanced reasoning skills, abstract thinking, and formal operational thinking. The psychiatric disorders in adolescents begin before the age of 14 and nearly 50% of adolescents are affected during this period. The remaining 20% of the adolescent’s population are affected by predisposing or precipitating factor. Plants have been used as a medicine based on folk remedies and experience. Due to the immense potential of medicinal plants, the research work was planned to carry out on plant based medicine. Various nutraceuticals and pharmaceutical components have been derived from medicinal plants. Plants such as Centella asiatica, Bacopa monnieri, and various herbs are rich source of omega 3, Alpha-linolenic acid, Minerals and Vitamins which helps in cognitive development and work as memory enhancer in human being.

Central Nerve System Impairment, AMA Guides, Sixth Edition: An Overview

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-13
Author(s):  
James B. Talmage ◽  
Jay Blaisdell
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Neurological Impairment ◽  
Sixth Edition ◽  
Central Nerve System ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
The One ◽  
Nerve System ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Injuries that affect the central nervous system (CNS) can be catastrophic because they involve the brain or spinal cord, and determining the underlying clinical cause of impairment is essential in using the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides), in part because the AMA Guides addresses neurological impairment in several chapters. Unlike the musculoskeletal chapters, Chapter 13, The Central and Peripheral Nervous System, does not use grades, grade modifiers, and a net adjustment formula; rather the chapter uses an approach that is similar to that in prior editions of the AMA Guides. The following steps can be used to perform a CNS rating: 1) evaluate all four major categories of cerebral impairment, and choose the one that is most severe; 2) rate the single most severe cerebral impairment of the four major categories; 3) rate all other impairments that are due to neurogenic problems; and 4) combine the rating of the single most severe category of cerebral impairment with the ratings of all other impairments. Because some neurological dysfunctions are rated elsewhere in the AMA Guides, Sixth Edition, the evaluator may consult Table 13-1 to verify the appropriate chapter to use.

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