Dopaminergic midbrain neurons are involved in many important brain functions including motor control, as well as emotive and cognitive tasks. They also play critical roles in major disorders likes Parkinson disease, schizophrenia, drug abuse and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. This bewildering diversity of distinct dopaminergic functions appears to be in contrast to the routinely assu...

The present study was designed to explore systematically the midbrain of unanesthetized, decerebrate anuran amphibians (bullfrogs), using chemical and electrical stimulation and midbrain transections to identify sites capable of exciting and inhibiting breathing. Ventilation was measured as fictive motor output from the mandibular branch of the trigeminal nerve and the laryngeal branch of the v...

OBJECTIVE The obesogenic environment is pervasive, yet only some people become obese. The aim was to investigate whether obese individuals show differential neural responses to visual and auditory food cues, independent of cue modality. METHODS Obese (BMI 29-41, n = 10) and lean (BMI 20-24, n = 10) females underwent fMRI scanning during presentation of auditory (spoken word) and visual (photo...

2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) is a persistent and potent developmental toxicant in various animals, with developing fish being the most sensitive organisms. Although the expression of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) as well as the partner molecule, AHR nuclear translocator (ARNT) in the brain has been reported, the effect of TCDD on the brain remains to be clarified in detail. Prev...

Weber's syndrome with vertical gaze palsy is rarely reported in literature. We present a case of a 47-year-old female who developed sudden onset of left exotropia, right sided hemiplegia and vertical gaze palsy. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed multiple infarcts involving both thalami and extending caudally into the midbrain. This case presents the diverse clinical picture following midb...

A study was made of glycine (Gly) and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors expressed in Xenopus oocytes injected with rat mRNAs isolated from the encephalon, midbrain, and brainstem of 18-day-old rat embryos. In oocytes injected with encephalon, midbrain, or brainstem mRNAs, the Gly-current amplitudes (membrane current elicited by Gly; 1 mM Gly) were respectively 115 +/- 35, 346 +/- 28, and...

We employed 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) labeling to identify in vivo changes in the cell cycle patterns of the rat midbrain during the major period of midbrain organogenesis, gestational days (gd) 11 to 16. We also used quantitative stereology to determine changes in absolute cell numbers during these gestational time points. Between gd 12 and 16, the length of S-phase did not change signifi...

The entire central nervous system develops from the neural plate, initially a single-cell layered epithelium. Anterior–posterior patterning is established by signals emanating from tissues outside the neural plate, while local signaling centers that are established within the neural plate itself will refine this initial patterning. One signaling center that plays an important role in the early ...

The severe disorders associated with a loss or dysfunction of midbrain dopamine neurons (DNs) have intensified research aimed at deciphering developmental programs controlling midbrain development. The homeodomain proteins Lmx1a and Lmx1b are important for the specification of DNs during embryogenesis, but it is unclear to what degree they may mediate redundant or specific functions. Here, we p...

Human embryonic stem (hES) cells are defined by their extensive self-renewal capacity and their potential to differentiate into any cell type of the human body. The challenge in using hES cells for developmental biology and regenerative medicine has been to direct the wide differentiation potential toward the derivation of a specific cell fate. Within the nervous system, hES cells have been sho...