The effects of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) emitted by mobile phones on humans hold special interest due to their use in close proximity to the brain. The current study investigated the number of pyramidal cells in the cornu ammonis (CA) of the 16-week-old female rat hippocampus following postnatal exposure to a 900 megahertz (MHz) EMF. In this study were three groups of 6 rats: control (Cont)...

Objective Reduced hippocampal volume and alterations in white matter tracts have been frequently reported in adults having the history of emotional maltreatment. We investigated whether these structural change occur in adolescents with previous verbal abuse (VA) experiences. Methods Hippocampal subfield volume and white matter structural connectivity measures were assessed in 31 first year ma...

The hippocampal area Cornu Ammonis (CA) CA2 is important for social interaction and is innervated by Substance P (SP)-expressing supramammillary (SuM) nucleus neurons. SP exerts neuromodulatory effects on pain processing and central synaptic transmission. Here we provide evidence that SP can induce a slowly developing NMDA receptor- and protein synthesis-dependent potentiation of synaptic trans...

BACKGROUND Altered hippocampal structure and function is a valuable indicator of possible conversion from amnestic type mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) to Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, little is known about the disrupted functional connectivity of hippocampus subregional networks in aMCI subjects. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS aMCI group-1 (n=26) and controls group-1 (n=18) underwent b...

The activation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) affects multiple aspects of neural precursor behaviour, including proliferation and migration. Telencephalic precursors acquire EGF responsiveness and upregulate EGFR expression at late stages of development. The events regulating this process and its significance are still unclear. We here show that in the developing and postnatal hippo...

Over 100 free-ranging adult California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) and one Northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus), predominantly adult females, were intoxicated by domoic acid (DA) during three harmful algal blooms between 1998 and 2000 in central and northern California coastal waters. The vector prey item was Northern anchovy (Engraulis mordax) and the primary DA-producing algal diato...

Scientific studies addressing anatomical variations in meditators' brains have emerged rapidly over the last few years, where significant links are most frequently reported with respect to gray matter (GM). To advance prior work, this study examined GM characteristics in a large sample of 100 subjects (50 meditators, 50 controls), where meditators have been practicing close to 20 years, on aver...

Brain cells are continuously exposed to corticosteroid hormones, although the levels vary (e.g., after stress). Corticosteroids alter neural activity via two receptor types, mineralocorticoid (MR) and glucocorticoid receptors (GR). These receptors regulate gene transcription but also, as we now know, act nongenomically. Via nongenomic pathways, MRs enhance and GRs suppress neural activity. In t...

Genetic engineering of the mouse brain allows investigators to address novel hypotheses in vivo. Because of the paucity of information on the network patterns of the mouse hippocampus, we investigated the electrical patterns in the behaving animal using multisite silicon probes and wire tetrodes. Theta (6-9 Hz) and gamma (40-100 Hz) oscillations were present during exploration and rapid eye mov...

The mechanisms underlying the generation of febrile seizures are poorly understood. This study investigated hyperthermia-induced changes in the hippocampus, a structure implicated in febrile seizures. It was hypothesized that neuronal excitability in the hippocampus changes with increasing temperature, and that this change is different in adult as compared with immature rats. Adult and immature...