实验仪器使用技术

The development of new therapeutics for management of pain is likely to become much more mechanism based, and therefore, we need a more thorough understanding of the different pain development pathways. The afferent fibers of sensory neurons, with their cell bodies in the dorsal root ganglia ( ...

The cell signalling mechanisms underlying mammalian central nervous system axon growth and guidance change during development, such that axons that establish appropriate connectivity in the embryo fail to regenerate after injury to the adult nervous system. The growth cone turni ...

Retinal pigment epithelium cells play a key role in maintaining the normal function of retina and can express several neurotrophic factors, which support the neurosensory retina and may also provide trophic signals to the host dopaminergic neurons. The following chapter describes a pr ...

In retinal diseases characterized by photoreceptor degeneration, the main cause of clinically significant vision loss is cone, rather than rod, loss. Photoreceptor apoptosis can be affected by the availability and/or delivery of neurotrophic proteins, and cultures of photorece ...

Glial cells play a key role in nervous system function, providing neurotrophic factor support to neurons as well as taking part in two-way neuron-glia signaling (e.g., neurotransmitter release). White matter-derived glia are important in certain neurodegenerative diseases invol ...

Central neurons lose the ability for axonal regrowth during development and typically do not regenerate their axons following axotomy once they become mature unless given a growth-permissive environment, for example, a peripheral nerve graft. Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) of the op ...

Spinal cord motor neuron cultures are an important tool for the study of mechanisms involved in motor neuron survival, degeneration and regeneration, volatile anesthetic-induced immobility, motor neuron disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or spinal muscular atro ...

This is perhaps the most beautiful time in human history; it is really pregnant with all kinds of creative possibilities made possible by science and technology.  Jonas Salk’s quotation seems particularly pertinent to recent developments in imaging technology, which have provided both b ...

Throughout our nervous system, excitation and inhibition are exquisitely balanced to enable a multitude of functions. When this balance is disrupted, neurons experience a surplus or a deficit in excitation, either of which can have devastating consequences. In the cortex, excitation a ...

Benign familial neonatal convulsions (BFNC) is caused by mutations in the KCNQ2 (Kv7.2) or KCNQ3 (Kv7.3) genes. These genes encode the KCNQ2 and KCNQ3 subunits that comprise the neuronal M-type potassium channel (M channel). While numerous studies have provided evidence for the inhibitory ...

Many experimental studies of epilepsy are based on rodent models induced by chemical or electrical insult as an instigator of seizures. Although such studies are useful in observing the physiological events that may occur during epileptogenesis, the great complexity of changes that en ...

For many years, scientists have developed animal models of epilepsy to study specific aspects of the human condition. Rodents are the species of choice in the vast majority of these studies. In a departure from these rodent-centric models, we here describe zebrafish (Danio rerio), a genetical ...

Here we describe a novel model system based on the transparent albino Xenopus laevis tadpole which is particularly well suited for the study of seizures and their sequelae within the intact developing brain. This system allows in vivo imaging of neuronal circuit activity with single-cell re ...

There has been an increased interest recently in various Drosophila models of human disease. The goals are to uncover the fundamental biological principles underlying causes and cures of human pathology utilizing the power of Drosophila genetics. A particularly exciting prospect is ...

Acquiring a holistic understanding of epilepsy, an intricate and often multifactorial disorder, is certain to necessitate considerable effort from a diverse and global assortment of scientists and clinicians. For most of its history, a combination of basic research with rodent mode ...

Neurogenesis persists in the adult mammalian hippocampal dentate gyrus and is influenced by epileptogenic insults. Studies of rodent mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE) models indicate that status epilepticus acutely increases dentate granule cell (DGC) neurogenesis, but in ...

Theoretically, gene therapy offers an attractive alternative for the treatment of focal epilepsies, and recently, studies have established the basic viability of anti-seizure gene therapy by employing a number of diverse approaches. Using recombinant adeno-associated virus ( ...

Understanding seizure generation, the transition from interictal to ictal states, and its underlying mechanisms requires continuous electrophysiologic monitoring. Though the duration of monitoring may vary from brief experiments over minutes to months of continuous rec ...

Organotypic hippocampal slice cultures experience trauma, deafferentation due to cell loss or transection of afferent pathways, and neuronal circuitry rearrangements much like the events that can lead to acquired temporal lobe epilepsy. Organotypic hippocampal slice cult ...

Marijuana (Cannabis sativa) is the illicit drug most commonly used by two vulnerable populations relevant to neurodevelopment—pregnant women and teenagers. Human longitudinal studies have linked prenatal and adolescent cannabis exposure with long-term behavioral abnor ...