Depressive disorder is a chronic, recurring, and potentially life-endangering neuropsychiatric disease. According to a report by the World Health Organization, the global population suffering from depression is experiencing a significant annual increase. Despite its prevalence and considerable impact on people, little is known about its pathogenesis. One major reason is the scarcity of reliable animal models due to the absence of consensus on the pathology and etiology of depression. Furthermore, the neural circuit mechanism of depression induced by various factors is particularly complex. Considering the variability in depressive behavior patterns and neurobiological mechanisms among different animal models of depression, a comparison between the neural circuits of depression induced by various factors is essential for its treatment. In this review, we mainly summarize the most widely used behavioral animal models and neural circuits under different triggers of depression, aiming to provide a theoretical basis for depression prevention.
Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Depressive Disorder/psychology* ; Humans ; Behavior, Animal/physiology* ; Nerve Net/physiopathology* ; Brain/physiopathology* ; Neural Pathways/physiopathology*

Adolescent ; Adult ; Brain ; abnormalities ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted ; Male ; Nerve Net ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Schizophrenia ; etiology ; physiopathology ; Schizophrenic Psychology

Autonomic disturbances often occur in patients with acute cerebrovascular disease due to damage of the central autonomic network. We summarize the structures of the central autonomic network and the clinical tests used to evaluate the functions of the autonomic nervous system. We review the clinical and experimental findings as well as management strategies of post-stroke autonomic disturbances including electrocardiographic changes, cardiac arrhythmias, myocardial damage, thermoregulatory dysfunction, gastrointestinal dysfunction, urinary incontinence, sexual disorders, and hyperglycemia. The occurrence of autonomic disturbances has been associated with poor outcomes in stroke patients. Autonomic nervous system modulation appears to be an emerging therapeutic strategy for stroke management in addition to treatments for sensorimotor dysfunction.
Acute Disease ; Animals ; Autonomic Nervous System ; physiopathology ; Cerebrovascular Disorders ; complications ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Nerve Net ; injuries ; Sensorimotor Cortex ; physiopathology ; Stroke ; physiopathology

Exploring the transition from inter-ictal to ictal epileptiform discharges (IDs) and how GABA receptor-mediated action affects the onset of IDs will enrich our understanding of epileptogenesis and epilepsy treatment. We used Mg-free artificial cerebrospinal fluid (ACSF) to induce epileptiform discharges in juvenile mouse hippocampal slices and used a micro-electrode array to record the discharges. After the slices were exposed to Mg-free ACSF for 10 min-20 min, synchronous recurrent seizure-like events were recorded across the slices, and each event evolved from inter-ictal epileptiform discharges (IIDs) to pre-ictal epileptiform discharges (PIDs), and then to IDs. During the transition from IIDs to PIDs, the duration of discharges increased and the inter-discharge interval decreased. After adding 3 μmol/L of the GABA receptor agonist muscimol, PIDs and IDs disappeared, and IIDs remained. Further, the application of 10 μmol/L muscimol abolished all the epileptiform discharges. When the GABA receptor antagonist bicuculline was applied at 10 μmol/L, IIDs and PIDs disappeared, and IDs remained at decreased intervals. These results indicated that there are dynamic changes in the hippocampal network preceding the onset of IDs, and GABA receptor activity suppresses the transition from IIDs to IDs in juvenile mouse hippocampus.
Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Bicuculline ; pharmacology ; Disease Models, Animal ; Epilepsy ; pathology ; GABA-A Receptor Agonists ; pharmacology ; GABA-A Receptor Antagonists ; therapeutic use ; Hippocampus ; drug effects ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; In Vitro Techniques ; Magnesium ; metabolism ; pharmacology ; Male ; Membrane Potentials ; drug effects ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Muscimol ; pharmacology ; Nerve Net ; drug effects ; Receptors, GABA-A ; metabolism

In 1905, Henry Head first suggested that transmission of pain-related protopathic information can be negatively modulated by inputs from afferents sensing innocuous touch and temperature. In 1965, Melzak and Wall proposed a more concrete gate control theory of pain that highlights the interaction between unmyelinated C fibers and myelinated A fibers in pain transmission. Here we review the current understanding of the spinal microcircuits transmitting and gating mechanical pain or itch. We also discuss how disruption of the gate control could cause pain or itch evoked by innocuous mechanical stimuli, a hallmark symptom for many chronic pain or itch patients.
Animals ; Humans ; Nerve Net ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Pain ; pathology ; Pruritus ; pathology ; Spinal Cord ; pathology ; Synaptic Transmission ; physiology

The purpose of this study was to explore the differences in interhemispheric functional connectivity in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) based on a triple network model consisting of the default mode network (DMN), salience network (SN), and executive control network (ECN). The technique of voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) analysis was applied to explore the aberrant connectivity of all patients. The results showed that: (1) the statistically significant connections of interhemispheric brain regions included DMN-related brain regions (i.e. precuneus, calcarine, fusiform, cuneus, lingual gyrus, temporal inferior gyrus, and hippocampus), SN-related brain regions (i.e. frontoinsular cortex), and ECN-related brain regions (i.e. frontal middle gyrus and frontal inferior); (2) the precuneus and frontal middle gyrus in the AD group exhibited lower VMHC values than those in the aMCI and healthy control (HC) groups, but no significant difference was observed between the aMCI and HC groups; and (3) significant correlations were found between peak VMHC results from the precuneus and Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Scale (MOCA) scores and their factor scores in the AD, aMCI, and AD plus aMCI groups, and between the results from the frontal middle gyrus and MOCA factor scores in the aMCI group. These findings indicated that impaired interhemispheric functional connectivity was observed in AD and could be a sensitive neuroimaging biomarker for AD. More specifically, the DMN was inhibited, while the SN and ECN were excited. VMHC results were correlated with MMSE and MOCA scores, highlighting that VMHC could be a sensitive neuroimaging biomarker for AD and the progression from aMCI to AD.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Alzheimer Disease/physiopathology* ; Brain/diagnostic imaging* ; Brain Mapping ; Cognitive Dysfunction/physiopathology* ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Memory ; Middle Aged ; Models, Neurological ; Nerve Net

OBJECTIVETo investigate the modulatory effect of acupuncture treatment on the resting-state functional connectivity of brain regions in migraine without aura (MWoA) patients.

METHODSTwelve MWoA patients were treated with standard acupuncture treatment for 4 weeks. All MWoA patients received resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning before and after acupuncture treatment. Another 12 normal subjects matched in age and gender were recruited to serve as healthy controls. The changes of restingstate functional connectivity in MWoA patients before and after the acupuncture treatment and those with the healthy controls were compared.

RESULTSBefore acupuncture treatment, the MWoA patients had significantly decreased functional connectivity in certain brain regions within the frontal and temporal lobe when compared with the healthy controls. After acupuncture treatment, brain regions showing decreased functional connectivity revealed significant reduction in MWoA patients compared with before acupuncture treatment.

CONCLUSIONSAcupuncture treatment could increase the functional connectivity of brain regions in the intrinsic decreased brain networks in MWoA patients. The results provided further insights into the interpretation of neural mechanisms of acupuncture treatment for migraine.

Acupuncture Therapy ; Brain ; physiopathology ; Case-Control Studies ; Demography ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Migraine without Aura ; physiopathology ; Nerve Net ; physiopathology ; Rest ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo observe the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data changes of default mode network (DMN) in chronic sciatica patients in the resting network state treated by acupuncture, and to study the correlation between DMN and the consisting effects after acupuncture analgesia.

METHODSWeizhong (BL40) and Huantiao (GB30) of the patients' lower limbs were selected as the main points to acupuncture for ten times. The whole brain was scanned using fMRI. The independent component analysis (ICA) was adopted to get DMN information. The brain DMN function link was analyzed in the two groups of subjects.

RESULTSThe DMN images were obtained in all subjects after DMN fMRI data processing. The main DMN differences between the sciatica patients group and the healthy control group were demonstrated as decreased activities of DLPFC and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). After acupuncture, activities of these regions basically recovered to normal. The DMN of healthy volunteers shown by fMRI data in the RNS mainly existed in the precuneus, BA7, BA10, and ACC.

CONCLUSIONMRI images of DMN in the RNS could reflect chronic pain, which was suitable for studies on the effects after acupuncture analgesia.

Acupuncture Therapy ; Adult ; Brain Mapping ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; methods ; Male ; Nerve Net ; physiopathology ; Neural Pathways ; Sciatica ; physiopathology

Many functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have revealed the deactivation phenomenon of default mode network in the patients with epilepsy; however, nearly not any of the reports has focused on the dorsal attention network of epilepsy. In this paper, independent component analysis (ICA) was used to isolate the dorsal attention network of 16 patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and of 20 healthy normals; and a goodness-of-fit analysis was applied at the individual subject level to choose the interesting component. Intra-group analysis and inter-group analysis were performed. The results indicated that the dorsal attention network included bilateral intraparietal sulcus, middle frontal gyrus, human frontal eye field, posterior lobe of right cerebellum, etc. The TLE group showed decreased functional connectivity in most of the dorsal attention regions with the predominance in the bilateral intraparietal sulcus, middle frontal gyrus, and posterior lobe of right cerebellum. These data suggested that the intrinsic organization of the brain function might be disrupted in TLE. In addition, the decrease of goodness-of-fit scores suggests that activity in the dorsal attention network may ultimately prove a sensitive biomarker for TLE.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Attention ; physiology ; Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders ; etiology ; physiopathology ; Brain Mapping ; Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe ; pathology ; physiopathology ; psychology ; Female ; Humans ; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted ; methods ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; methods ; Male ; Nerve Net ; physiopathology ; Principal Component Analysis ; methods ; Young Adult

The purpose of the present work was to study the effect of acute tetanization of the right caudate putamen nucleus (ATRC) on single neuronal interspike intervals (ISIs) in both laterodorsal thalamic nuclei (LDi), and electroencephalogram (EEG) wave interpeak intervals (IPIs) in both hippocampi (HPCi). Experiments were performed on 21 male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 150~250 g. The seizures were induced by the ATRC (60 Hz, 2 s, 0.4~0.6 mA). Quadruple recordings were simultaneously carried out: two for single unit recordings from both LDi, and two for EEG recordings from both HPCi. The ATRC induced: (1) An interactive epileptic electrical network reconstructed in bilateral HPCi, which was driven by primary afterdischarges of single LD neuron. (2) A symmetric mirror-like ISI spot distribution of the LD neuronal firing before and after tetanus. (3) Gradually prolonged LD neuronal discharge intermittence was coherent with synchronous hippocampal EEG activities on the contralateral side. (4) Single LD neuronal spikes were phase- and time-locked to 20~25 Hz gamma oscillations in contralateral HPC. It suggests a particular temporal code patterning of single LD neuronal firing and its relationships to hippocampal EEG wave code in time series, the latter implies the LD neuronal encoding mechanisms of ATRC-induced epileptic electrical network in bilateral HPCi.
Action Potentials ; physiology ; Animals ; Caudate Nucleus ; physiology ; Electric Stimulation ; methods ; Electroencephalography ; Epilepsy ; etiology ; physiopathology ; Hippocampus ; physiology ; Lateral Thalamic Nuclei ; physiology ; Male ; Nerve Net ; physiology ; Neurons ; physiology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reaction Time ; physiology