Post-traumatic epilepsy is one of the most common and difficult to treat forms of acquired epilepsy worldwide. Currently, there is no effective way to prevent post-traumatic epileptogenesis. It is known that abnormalities of interneurons, particularly parvalbumin-containing interneurons, play a critical role in epileptogenesis following traumatic brain injury. Thus, enhancing the function of ex...

BACKGROUND The analysis of co-localized protein expression in a tissue section is often conducted with immunofluorescence histochemical staining which is typically visualized in localized regions. On the other hand, chromogenic immunohistochemical staining, in general, is not suitable for the detection of protein co-localization. Here, we developed a new protocol, based on chromogenic immunohis...

The subunit composition of the AMPA receptor is critical to its function. AMPA receptors that display very low calcium permeability include the GluR2 subunit, while AMPA receptors that contain other subunits, such as GluR1, display high calcium permeability. We have studied the distribution and morphology of neurons containing GluR1 in the hamster visual cortex with antibody immunocytochemistry...

Neurological and psychiatric syndromes often have multiple disease traits, yet it is unknown how such multi-faceted deficits arise from single mutations. Haploinsufficiency of the voltage-gated sodium channel Nav1.1 causes Dravet syndrome, an intractable childhood-onset epilepsy with hyperactivity, cognitive deficit, autistic-like behaviours, and premature death. Deletion of Nav1.1 channels sel...

Plasticity in the visual cerebral cortex is regulated by the internalization of Otx2 homeoprotein into parvalbumin neurons in cortical layers II/III and IV. However the locus is not active in these neurons and the protein is imported from Otx2 external sources, including the choroid plexus. Because Otx1 and Otx2 may have redundant functions, we wanted to verify if part of the staining in parval...

Locomotor performance is linked to fitness and health of animals and is expected to be under strong selection. However, interindividual variation in locomotor performance is pronounced in many species. It was our aim to investigate the relative importance of energy metabolism and calcium handling in determining sprint and sustained locomotion in the zebrafish (Danio rerio). Sprint and sustained...

We recently reported the use of a chronic dialytic delivery system for intrastriatal administration of quinolinic acid in the rat.” This system produces ~~~e~ration with some characteristics simihtr to posf ntortem brain tissue from Hun~on’s disease patients, including reduced cytochrome oxidase staining, a decreased number of Nissl-stained neurons, and relative sparing of striatal NADPH-diapho...

Parvalbumin-expressing basket cells tightly control cortical networks and fire remarkably stereotyped during network oscillations and simple behaviors. How can these cells support multifaceted situations with different behavioral options and complex temporal sequences? We recorded from identified parvalbumin-expressing basket cells in prefrontal cortex of freely moving rats performing a multidi...