Previous work implicated the complement system in adult neurogenesis as well as elimination of synapses in the developing and injured CNS. In the present study, we used mice lacking the third complement component (C3) to elucidate the role the complement system plays in hippocampus-dependent learning and synaptic function. We found that the constitutive absence of C3 is associated with enhanced...

The hippocampus, as part of the cerebral cortex, is essential for memory formation and spatial navigation. Although it has been extensively studied, especially as a model system for neurophysiology, the cellular processes involved in constructing and organizing the hippocampus remain largely unclear. Here, we show that clonally related excitatory neurons in the developing hippocampus are progre...

During the prenatal period, the development of individual is influenced by the environmental factors. In the present study, the influence of prenatal noise and music on the spatial memory and neurogenesis in the hippocampus of developing rats was investigated. The exposure to the noise during pregnancy caused growth retardation, decreased neurogenesis in the hippocampus, and impaired spatial le...

Immunocytochemical techniques were used to examine the synaptic relations of inhibitory interneurons in the developing rabbit hippocampus. Glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), the synthesizing enzyme for the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA, was found in interneurons of immature (8 d old) as well as mature (30 d old) tissue. GAD-immunoreactivity was seen in somata, dendrites, and axon terminals o...

Rat perinatal (E20-P0) CA1 pyramidal neurons were either synaptically active or silent. We show here that, during this developmental period, active but not silent cells form recurrent axon-collaterals that invade the radiatum and the lacunosum moleculare strata. These recurrents were never observed in adult rats. We propose that these transient recurrent axons may participate in the activity-de...

Synchronous population activity is present both in normal and pathological conditions such as epilepsy. In the immature hippocampus, synchronous bursting is an electrophysiological conspicuous event. These bursts, known as giant depolarizing potentials (GDPs), are generated by the synchronized activation of interneurons and pyramidal cells via GABAA, N-methyl-D-aspartate, and AMPA receptors. Ne...

INTRODUCTION Opioid are used in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for pain management and sedation of infants requiring mechanical ventilation [1]. Adult rats exposed to recurrent administration of opioids in the absence of pain have decreased neurogenesis and altered neurotransmitters in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus [2, 3]. Prenatal exposure to opioids causes long-term learning a...