ObjectiveTo investigate the mechanism by which Xiebai San regulates respiratory tract and intestinal mucosal immunity in rats with allergic asthma. MethodsForty male SD rats were randomly divided into four groups based on body weight: control group, model group, positive control group, and Xiebai San group. The model group, positive control group, and Xiebai San group were sensitized with ovalbumin to establish a rat model of allergic asthma. From day 21 (the aerosol challenge phase), each group received daily gavage interventions simultaneously: the positive control group was administered dexamethasone (0.068 mg/kg), the Xiebai San group received Xiebai San solution (2 g/mL, 11.3 mL/kg), while the control and model groups were given an equal volume of normal saline, once daily for 14 consecutive days. After euthanasia, lung and intestinal tissues were collected. Hematoxylin and eosin staining was used to observe histopathological changes. Transmission electron microscopy was employed to examine tissue ultrastructure. Immunohistochemistry was applied to detect the positive reaction areas of phosphatidyl-inositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and protein kinase B (Akt) proteins. Total protein and total RNA were extracted from lung and intestinal tissues, then the protein and mRNA expression levels of PI3K and Akt genes were detected by Western blotting and real-time quantitative PCR, respectively. ResultsHistopathological results showed alveolar emphysema accompanied by inflammatory cell infiltration, and intestinal mucosal injury with inflammatory cell infiltration in the model group as compared with the control group; the cellular structure of lung tissues was disrupted in the model group, with reduced organelles, while the ultrastructural lesions in the intestine were relatively mild. Compared with the model group, Xiebai San group exhibited milder pathological changes in lung tissues, with occasional alveolar wall damage and a small amount of inflammatory cell infiltration; the intestinal mucosal structure was improved, glands were arranged regularly, and pathological changes such as tissue loosening and inflammatory infiltration were alleviated; the cellular structure of lung tissues was relatively intact with reduced severity of lesions, and no ultrastructural pathological changes were observed in intestinal tissues. Immunohistochemistry and Western blotting results showed that compared with the control group, the specific positive reaction areas of PI3K and Akt in lung and intestinal tissues were significantly increased in the model group (all P<0.001); meanwhile, the protein expression levels of PI3K and Akt were significantly upregulated (all P<0.05). Compared with the model group, the positive area of Akt protein in lung tissue was significantly reduced in the Xiebai San group (P<0.001), and the positive area of PI3K in intestinal tissue was also significantly decreased (P<0.000 1). Additionally, the protein expression levels of PI3K and Akt in lung and intestinal tissues were significantly downregulated (all P<0.01). Real-time quantitative PCR results showed that compared with the control group, the mRNA expression levels of PI3K and Akt genes in lung and intestinal tissues were significantly elevated in the model group (all P<0.05). Compared with the model group, the mRNA expression levels of PI3K and Akt genes in lung and intestinal tissues were significantly reduced in the Xiebai San group (all P<0.05). ConclusionXiebai San exerts protective effects on rats with allergic asthma by inhibiting the expression of key nucleic acids and proteins in the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway in lung and intestinal tissues, improving the morphological structure of lung tissue, and maintaining intestinal mucosal integrity, and regulating intestinal mucosal immune function.

The neural circuit is the material carrier for the realization of brain function,consisting of a complex network of different neurons.Neural circuit identification technology tracks the structure and activity of specific neural circuits,to study their adequacy and necessity for brain function,which is crucial for understanding the pathogenesis of brain diseases.As a high-tech tool in the fields of neuroscience and brain science,neural circuit identification technology has been gradually introduced into basic traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)research in recent years.This systematic review considers the principles of neural circuit identification technology and progress in its application in the field of TCM neuroscience.We note that future developments in this field should be based on the overall concept of TCM characteristics and the design of syndrome differentiation and treatment.Further research on the neural circuit mechanisms of diverse method of TCM in diseases will help to promote the deep integration of TCM and modern neuroscience.

Chemogenetic technology is a receptor-ligand system that regulates cell viability and function by changing receptor specificity and affinity, and it achieves precise neuronal regulation by specifically regulating neurons and neural circuits. At present, this technique is widely used in the study of neural circuits. This article briefly describes the application and progress of chemogenetic technology in the study of depression neural circuits, reviews the application of chemogenetic technology in several brain regions closely related to depression, such as ventral tegmental area, nucleus accumbens, prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and lateral habenula, and discusses the potential and challenges of chemogenetic technology as a technology for precise regulation of neural activity in future research, in order to provide reliable ideas and directions for chemogenetic technology in the study of depression neural circuits.

Anxiety is a major mood disorder, and the high morbidity, co-morbidity and disability of anxiety disorders seriously affect people's quality of life, so the importance and urgency of research on anxiety cannot be overstated. Animal models are the main carriers for studying the mechanism of disease occurrence and development, drug efficacy evaluation and drug development.Unconditioned anxiety model is a common anxiety model.Elevated plus maze test, open field test and light-dark box test are widely accepted paradigms for the detection of unconditioned anxiety.This kind of behavioral paradigm based on environmental exposure takes advantage of the conflict between curiosity and fear of the unfamiliar environment to simulate and detect the anxiety of animals.However, the validity of these behavioral paradigms for evaluating anxiety in animals is questionable.In this paper, we discuss the concept of anxiety, the definition of anxiety behavior in the behavioral test of unconditioned anxiety, and the factors to be considered in the test of unconditioned anxiety behavior.On this basis, new solutions were proposed to the contradictions and blind spots in order to improve the test paradigm of anxiety behavior and provide a more reliable animal model for the evaluation of anxiety.This paper presents a new approach to address the contradictions and blind spots of this paradigm.

Neural recording electrodes enable the acquisition and collection of electrical signals from neu-rons,and these recorded neural electrical signals are an important means of understanding neuronal activity.As a major component of the brain-machine interface,neu-ral recording electrodes serve as a bridge between the nervous system and external devices.The extracted information can be used to understand the state of the brain and acts as a feedback signal to regulate external devices,thus providing important information for the clini-cal treatment of neurological diseases.Moreover,the electrodes can be used as a vehicle for drug injection to directly treat diseases.Since the time that Strumwas-ser used microwires to achieve long-term recordings of neural activity in hibernating squirrels,implantable elec-trode technology has gradually improved over three gen-erations of development,and progress has been made in improving the biocompatibility,mechanical performance(size,shape,density,etc.),and signal-to-noise ratio.Implantable neural recording electrodes can acquire sig-nals from cortical and deep neural clusters,with the advantages of high signal-to-noise ratio,information con-tent,and spatial/temporal resolution.However,there is still a need to improve the structure and performance of these electrodes;for example,their high invasiveness and lack of biocompatibility pose technical difficulties in the process of translation to the clinic.This paper reviews the basic requirements for electrodes,main recording methods and signal types,common types of implant-able neural recording electrodes,and their challenges and future development directions.With the continuous development of electrode materials,equipment,systems,and neurotechnology,it should be possible to apply neu-ral recording electrodes in clinical practice,to promote safe and efficient treatment of human diseases.

Objective To explore the behavioral dimensions and validity of the light-dark box(LDB),as an model of state anxiety in Kunming mice.Methods The behavior of adult,male,Kunming mice in LDB was recorded twice,for five minutes,with a one-week inter-trial interval.The following parameters were evaluated by factor analysis:latence for the first entry into the dark area(Latence);percentage of time exploring in the light area (Ltime%);percentage of squares crossing in the light area(Lcross%);percentage of rears in the light area (Lrear%);transitions between two areas(Transition);total number of squares crossing in the whole apparatus (Cross);total number of rears in the whole apparatus(Rear);and number of fecal boli(FB).Results There was a good intercorrelation both among Ltime%,Lcross%,Lrear%,and among Transition,Cross,Rear.A good correlation also was found between test and retest for Transition,Rear and FB.Ltime%,Lcress%and Lrear%had significant loadings on Anxiety factor(Loading%:39.54%,35.40%);Transition loaded on Locomotor factor(Loading%:23.78%,19.66%),combined with Cross;Rear loaded on Exploration factor(Loading%:13.75%,22.60%);and FB loaded on Emotionality factor(Loading%:14.42%,13.02%);Latence was not stable.Conclusion Light-dark box,as an animal model of state anxiety in Kunming mice,comprised three behavioral dimensions:anxiety factor,LDB-activity factor(locomotor factor and exploration factor)and emotionality factor.

Objective To explore the behavioral dimensions of the open field test ( OFF),as a method for ethology in Kunming mice.Methods The behavior of adult,male,Kunming mice in OFF was recorded twice,for five minutes,with a one-week inter-trial interval.The following parameters were evaluated by factor analysis:percentage of time exploring in the central area (Ctime％); percentage of squares crossing in the central area (Ccross％) ; total number of squares crossing in the whole apparatus(Cross) ; total number of rears in the whole apparatus(Rear) ; and number of fecal boli(FB).Results There were good intercorrelation and intracorrelation between test and retest for Ctime％,Ccross％,Cross and Rear.Ctime％ and Ccross％ had significant loadings on “Anxiety” factor ( Loading％:43.34％,48.56％ ) ; Cross and Rear loaded on “locomotor-Exploration” factor ( Loading％:27.94％,29.30％ ) ; and FB loaded on “Emotionality” factor ( Loading％:21.95％,15.93％ ).A good correlation was found between test and retest for anxiety factor and locomtor-exploration factor.Conclusion Open field test,as a method for ethology in Kunming mice,comprise three behavioral dimensions:anxiety factor,OFF-activity factor(locomotor-exploration) and emotionality factor.

Objective To explore the test-retest reliability of the open field test,as a method for ethology in Kunming mice. Methods The behavior of adult male Kunming mice in the open field test was recorded twice,once for five minutes, with a one-week inter-trial interval. The following parameters were evaluated:number of central squares; number of peripheral squares; percent of central squares; number of horizontal squares; number of rearings; total score; and number of fecal boli. Subsequently,the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and the agreement index (Kappa) were calculated for each of these parameters. Results Both ICC and Kappa for total score( ICC =0.902, P＜0.01; Kappa =0.680, P＜0.01; r=0.815, P＜0.01 ) showed a good reliability and correlation between the test trials. Only ICC for number of central squares ( ICC = 0. 578, P ＜ 0.01 ), number of peripheral squares( ICC =0.615, P＜0.01 ) ,percent of central squares(ICC=0.523, P＜0.01) ,number of horizontal squares( ICC = 0. 607, P ＜ 0.01 ) and number of rearings ( ICC = 0. 606, P ＜ 0.01 ) indicated a fair reliability between the test trials. Neither ICC nor Kappa for number of fecal boli displayed a significant reliability between the test trials. The difference of these parameters between test and retest, such as number of peripheral squares( t =3.01, P＜0.01 ),number of horizontal squares( t = 3.34, P ＜ 0.01 ) and total score( t = 7.86, P ＜ 0.01 ) were significant. Conclusion The parameter,total score for Kunming mice in the open field test,is found to be stable over time, and indicates a good reliability with a one-week inter-trial interval.

Objective To observe the change pattern of macaques'body temperature and the relationship exterior sign,expression and behavior,sex hormone level in their menolipsis.Methods Macaques'exterior sign,expression and behavior were photographed and videotaped.Body temperature was detected by electrothermometer everyday and draw a fluctuation curve.Their estrogen and progesterone level changes were detected by radioimmunoassay.Results Three macaques'cycle of Sex skin change continued about 40 days in Period of Menolipsis,and body temperature,expression and behavior,sex hormone level of macaques in period of menolipsis showed regular changs.Conclusion Temperature fluctuation of macaques showed typical diphase change which was similar to the change in normal menstrual cycle and consistence with their exterior sign,expression and behavior and sex hormone level change regularity.Diaphase fluctuation of macaques'body temperature may be related to sex hormone level change.