Involvement of prelimbic cortex neurons and related circuits in the acquisition of cooperative learning by pairs of rats

Social behaviors such as cooperation are crucial for mammals. A deeper knowledge of the neuronal mechanisms underlying cooperation can be beneficial for people suffering from pathologies with impaired social behavior. Our aim was to study the brain activity when two animals synchronize their behavior to obtain a mutual reinforcement. In a previous work, we showed that the activity of the prelimbic cortex (PrL) was enhanced during cooperation in rats, especially in the ones leading most cooperative trials (leader rats). In this study, we investigated the specific cell type/s in the PrL contributing to cooperative behaviors. To this end, we collected rats' brains at key moments of the learning process to analyze the levels of c-FOS expression in the main cellular groups of the PrL (glutamatergic cells containing D1 and D2 receptors and interneurons). Leader rats showed increased c-FOS activity in cells expressing D1 receptors during cooperation. In addition, we analyzed the levels of anxiety, dominance, and locomotor behavior, finding that leader rats are in general less anxious and less dominant than followers. We also recorded local field potentials (LFPs) from the PrL, the nucleus accumbens septi (NAc), and the basolateral amygdala (BLA). Spectral analysis showed that delta activity in PrL and NAc increased when rats cooperated, while BLA activity in delta and theta bands decreased considerably during cooperation. The PrL and NAc also increased their connectivity in the high theta band during cooperation. Thus, the present work identifies the specific PrL cell types engaged in this behavior, as well as its connectivity with subcortical brain regions (BLA, NAc) during cooperation.

RATIO OF TOTAL SLOW AND SUPER SLOW CEREBRAL BIOELECTRICAL ACTIVITY IN CHILDREN WITH HYPOXIA

The aim of the study is to identify changes in the total slow and super slow bioelectric activity of the cerebral hemispheres in 8–11-year-old children under reduced oxygen partial pressure in the inhaled air and in norm. Materials and Methods. The authors examined 82 8–11-year-old children. EEG registration was carried out on a complex Russian device "Telepat-103" with computer processing of the results. Slow potentials were recorded using a special computer complex for studying constant potential level (CPL) and cerebral energy consumption "Neuroenergon". Hypoxia was created by a special medical device "Hypoxicator" (Trade Medical). The choice of the oxygen content in the test hypoxic mixture (14 % O2) was based on the results of a three-stage hypoxic test carried out before the complex examination. Results. Hypoxia increases the index and amplitude of delta oscillations and decreases the number of alpha waves in 8–11-year-old children. The results obtained indicate that it is more important to provide the brain with a sufficient amount of oxygen corresponding to its needs than simply to increase the brain blood supply during hypoxia. The study also indicates the contribution of the body's sensitivity to hypoxic response. Under hypoxia, an increase in the constant potential level in the studied brain areas is observed in 8–11-year-old children. An increase in electrical activity during normobaric hypoxia is noted at low baseline values of constant potential level. An increase in the slow electrical brain activity occurs due to the change of brain energy supply according to the biochemical indicators of energy metabolism. Short-term hypoxia is accompanied by a simultaneous increase in slow-wave activity due to delta activity and CPL in 8–11-year-old children. Conclusion. Thus, we can say that a picture of functional brain activity with simultaneous inhibitory phenomena in the cortex is formed. It may reflect the development of a special state of the central nervous system. Key words: constant potential level, electroencephalography, hypoxia, adaptation to hypoxia. Цель работы – выявление изменений суммарной медленной и сверхмедленной биоэлектрической активности полушарий головного мозга у детей в возрасте от 8 до 11 лет в условиях нормального и сниженного парциального давления кислорода во вдыхаемом воздухе. Материалы и методы. Обследовано 82 ребенка 8–11-летнего возраста. Регистрация ЭЭГ осуществлялась на комплексной отечественной установке «Телепат-103» с компьютерной обработкой результатов. Медленные потенциалы фиксировались с помощью специального компьютерного комплекса для исследования уровня постоянных потенциалов (УПП) и энергозатрат головного мозга «Нейроэнергон». Гипоксические условия создавались аппаратом «Гипоксикатор» фирмы Trade Medical. Выбор содержания кислорода в тестирующей гипоксической смеси (14 % О2) основывался на результатах проведенного до комплексного обследования трехступенчатого гипоксического теста. Результаты. У детей от 8 до 11 лет действие гипоксии на головной мозг приводит к возрастанию индекса и амплитуды дельта-колебаний и убыванию числа альфа-волн. Полученные результаты говорят о том, что большое значение имеет не столько усиление кровоснабжения головного мозга при гипоксии, сколько обеспечение мозга достаточным, соответствующим его потребностям, количеством кислорода, а также о роли чувствительности организма к гипоксии. При воздействии гипоксии у детей этого возраста наблюдается возрастание уровня постоянных потенциалов в исследуемых областях головного мозга. При низких фоновых значениях уровня постоянных потенциалов отмечается возрастание электрической активности при нормобарической гипоксии. Возрастание медленной электрической активности головного мозга происходит из-за того, что изменяется энергообеспечение головного мозга по биохимическим показателям энергетического обмена. Действие кратковременной гипоксии сопровождается одновременным возрастанием медленноволновой активности за счет дельта-активности и УПП у детей от 8 до 11 лет. Выводы. Таким образом, можно говорить о том, что формируется своеобразная картина функциональной активности с одновременными тормозными явлениями в коре, что может являться отражением развития особого состояния центральной нервной системы. Ключевые слова: уровень постоянных потенциалов, электроэнцефалография, гипоксия, адаптация к гипоксии.

Sleep Quality and Electroencephalogram Delta Power

Delta activity on electroencephalogram (EEG) is considered a biomarker of homeostatic sleep drive. Delta power is often associated with sleep duration and intensity. Here, we reviewed the literature to explore how sleep quality was influenced by changes in delta power. However, we found that both the decrease and increase in delta power could indicate a higher sleep quality due to the various factors below. First, the differences in changes in delta power in patients whose sleep quality is lower than that of the healthy controls may be related to the different diseases they suffered from. We found that the patients mainly suffered from borderline personality disorder, and Rett syndrome may have a higher delta power than healthy individuals. Meanwhile, patients who are affected by Asperger syndrome, respiratory failure, chronic fatigue, and post-traumatic stress disorder have lower delta power. Second, if the insomnia patients received the therapy, the difference may be caused by the treatment method. Cognitive or music therapy shows that a better therapeutic effect is associated with decreased delta power, whereas in drug treatment, there is an opposite change in delta power. Last, for healthy people, the difference in delta change may be related to sleep stages. The higher sleep quality is associated with increased delta power during the NREM period, whereas a deceased delta change accompanies higher sleep quality during the REM period. Our work summarizes the effect of changes in delta power on sleep quality and may positively impact the monitoring and intervention of sleep quality.

The Development of Sleep/Wake Disruption and Cataplexy as Hypocretin/Orexin Neurons Degenerate in Male vs. Female Orexin/tTA; TetO-DTA Mice

Narcolepsy Type 1 (NT1), a sleep disorder with similar prevalence in both sexes, is thought to be due to loss of the hypocretin/orexin (Hcrt) neurons. Several transgenic strains have been created to model this disorder and are increasingly being used for preclinical drug development and basic science studies, yet most studies have solely used male mice. We compared the development of narcoleptic symptomatology in male vs. female orexin-tTA; TetO-DTA mice, a model in which Hcrt neuron degeneration can be initiated by removal of doxycycline (DOX) from the diet. EEG, EMG, body temperature, gross motor activity and video recordings were conducted for 24-h at baseline and 1, 2, 4 and 6 weeks after DOX removal. Female DTA mice exhibited cataplexy, the pathognomonic symptom of NT1, by Week 1 in the DOX(-) condition but cataplexy was not consistently present in males until Week 2. By Week 2, both sexes showed an impaired ability to sustain long wake bouts during the active period, the murine equivalent of excessive daytime sleepiness in NT1. Body temperature appeared to be regulated at lower levels in both sexes as the Hcrt neurons degenerated. During degeneration, both sexes also exhibited the Delta State, characterized by sudden cessation of activity, high delta activity in the EEG, maintenance of muscle tone and posture, and the absence of phasic EMG activity. Since the phenotypes of the two sexes were indistinguishable by Week 6, we conclude that both sexes can be safely combined in future studies to reduce cost and animal use.

Bazooka/Par3 cooperates with Sanpodo for the assembly of Notch clusters following asymmetric division of Drosophila sensory organ precursor cells

In multiple cell lineages, Delta-Notch signalling regulates cell fate decisions owing to unidirectional signalling between daughter cells. In Drosophila pupal sensory organ lineage, Notch regulates the intra-lineage pIIa/pIIb fate decision at cytokinesis. Notch and Delta that localise apically and basally at the pIIa-pIIb interface are expressed at low levels and their residence time at the plasma membrane is in the order of minutes. How Delta can effectively interact with Notch to trigger signalling from a large plasma membrane area remains poorly understood. Here, we report that the signalling interface possesses a unique apicobasal polarity with Par3/Bazooka localising in the form of nano-clusters at the apical and basal level. Notch is preferentially targeted to the pIIa-pIIb interface, where it co-clusters with Bazooka and its cofactor Sanpodo. Clusters whose assembly relies on Bazooka and Sanpodo activities are also positive for Neuralized, the E3 ligase required for Delta-activity. We propose that the nano-clusters act as snap buttons at the new pIIa-pIIb interface to allow efficient intra-lineage signalling.

The Regional EEG Pattern of the Sleep Onset Process in Older Adults

Healthy aging is characterized by macrostructural sleep changes and alterations of regional electroencephalographic (EEG) sleep features. However, the spatiotemporal EEG pattern of the wake-sleep transition has never been described in the elderly. The present study aimed to assess the topographical and temporal features of the EEG during the sleep onset (SO) in a group of 36 older participants (59–81 years). The topography of the 1 Hz bins’ EEG power and the time course of the EEG frequency bands were assessed. Moreover, we compared the delta activity and delta/beta ratio between the older participants and a group of young adults. The results point to several peculiarities in the elderly: (a) the generalized post-SO power increase in the slowest frequencies did not include the 7 Hz bin; (b) the alpha power revealed a frequency-specific pattern of post-SO modifications; (c) the sigma activity exhibited only a slight post-SO increase, and its highest bins showed a frontotemporal power decrease. Older adults showed a generalized reduction of delta power and delta/beta ratio in both pre- and post-SO intervals compared to young adults. From a clinical standpoint, the regional EEG activity may represent a target for brain stimulation techniques to reduce SO latency and sleep fragmentation.

Multiple ictal onset patterns underlie seizure generation in seizure-free patients with temporal lobe epilepsy surgery: an SEEG study

Purpose Seizure originates from different pathological substrate; however, the same pathologies may have distinct mechanisms underlying seizure generation. We aimed to improve the understanding of such mechanisms in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) by investigating the stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) ictal onset patterns (IOPs). Methods We analyzed data from a cohort of 19 consecutive patients explored by SEEG and had 1–3-year seizure-freedom following temporal lobe resection. Results Six IOPs were identified. They were low voltage fast activity (LVFA) (36.5%), rhythmic spikes or spike-waves at low frequency and with high amplitude (34.1%), runs of spikes (10.6%), rhythmic sharp waves (8.2%), low frequency high amplitude repetitive spiking (LFRS) (7.1%), and delta activity (3.5%). All six patterns were found in patients with mesial temporal onset and only two patterns were found in patients with temporal neocortical onset. The most prevalent patterns for patients with mesial temporal onset were rhythmic spikes or spike-waves, followed by LVFA with a mean discharge rate 74 Hz. For patients with temporal neocortical onset, the most prevalent IOP pattern was LVFA with a mean discharge rate 35 Hz, followed by runs of spikes. Compared with Lateral TLE (LTLE), the duration between the onset of the IOPs to the onset of the symptom was longer for patients with MTLE (Mesial TLE) (MTLE:55.7 ± 50.6 s vs LTLE:19.5 ± 16.4 s). Conclusion Multiple IOPs underlie seizure generation in patients with TLE. However, the mesial and lateral temporal lobes share distinct IOPs.

EEG findings in patients with angelman syndrome. Notched slow waves and age-specific characteristics of the main EEG patterns

Angelman syndrome (AS) is a genetic disorder caused by a mutation in the maternal copy of the UBE3A gene and characterized by typical clinical manifestations (such as mental retardation, difficulty walking, and laughter) and specific changes on the electroencephalogram (EEG).The aim of this study was to analyze age-specific characteristics of the main EEG patterns, including high-amplitude frontal delta activity with spikes, slow-wave delta-theta activity with spikes in the posterior regions, and diffuse continuous rhythmic theta activity. In addition to that, we assessed the frequency of a rare and highly specific for AS EEG pattern: notched slow waves.We have identified and described additional criteria for EEG during sleep: high index of pathological slow-wave activity and the ratio of pathological slow-wave activity index to epileptiform activity index during sleep. We also analyzed all EEG patterns at the age most significant for the detection of this syndrome (up to 3 years) and their age-specific dynamics.We covered the frequency and characteristics of EEG patterns rare in AS patients, such as three-phase bifrontal delta waves, reactive pathological activity in the posterior areas, EEG patterns of focal seizures originating from the posterior areas, benign epileptiform discharges of childhood, and migrating continuous slow-wave activity.We analyzed the differences between main EEG patterns in AS and frontal and occipital intermittent rhythmic delta activity (fIRDA and OIRDA patterns).

Topography of Movement-Related Delta and Theta Brain Oscillations

The aim of this study was to analyse the high density EEG during movement execution guided by visual attention to reveal the detailed topographic distributions of delta and theta oscillations. Twenty right-handed young subjects performed a finger tapping task, paced by a continuously transited repeating visual stimuli. Baseline corrected power of scalp current density transformed EEG was statistically assessed with cluster-based permutation testing. Delta and theta activities revealed differences in their spatial properties at the time of finger tapping execution. Theta synchronization showed a contralateral double activation in the parietal and fronto-central regions, while delta activity appeared in the central contralateral channels. Differences in the spatiotemporal topography between delta and theta activity in the course of movement execution were identified on high density EEG.