Nervous and sensory system

Sensory Neurons Link the Nervous System and Autoimmune Diabetes

The initial factors that trigger the autoimmune response against pancreatic islets in the nonobese diabetic (NOD) mouse are still unknown. In this issue of Cell, propose that a defect in a subset of sensory neurons innervating the pancreas plays a major role in initiating the chain of events that will lead to local inflammation, islet destruction, and autoimmune diabetes.

The cranial sensory nervous system: specification of sensory progenitors and placodes

Role of sensory nervous system vasoactive peptides in hypertension.

The goal of the present research was to elucidate the roles and mechanisms by which the sensory nervous system, through the actions of potent vasodilator neuropeptides, regulates cardiovascular function in both the normal state and in the pathophysiology of hypertension. The animal models of acquired hypertension studied were deoxycorticosterone-salt (DOC-salt), subtotal nephrectomy-salt (SN-sa...

Parallel processing in the nervous system: evidence from sensory maps.

Perhaps the clearest organizing principle in sensory systems is the existence of maps, in which there is an orderly and systematic layout of the stimulus space on a two-dimensional array of neurons. Usually, the layout of the stimulus on the receptor sheet is reproduced so that neurons that innervate adjacent sites on the receptor sheet project to adjacent sites in the central map. Thus, in the...

ADENOSINE IN THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

Besides being a metabolite of nucleotides like ATP, adenosine is a mediator of neuronal function in the central nervous system. Its actions are mediated by at least three extracellular receptors. In this review different aspects of adenosine such as biosynthesis, release, inactivation and its receptors are discussed. It also covers pre- and postsynaptic effects as well as postreceptor mecha...