Comparative study on the distribution and expression of Neuroglobin and Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α in the telencephalon of yak and cattle / Estudo comparativo da distribuição e expressão de fator-1α indutível por neuroglobina e hipóxia no telencéfalo de iaques e bovinos

The telencephalon refers to the most highly developed and anterior part of the forebrain, consisting mainly of the cerebral hemispheres. The study determined Neuroglobin (Ngb) and Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF-1α) expression in the telencephalon of yak and cattle, and compare the expression and distribution pattern of Ngb and HIF-1α in the two animals. Immunohistochemistry (IHC), quantitative real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR), and Western blot (WB) were employed to investigate Ngb and Hif-1α expression in the telencephalon of yak and cattle. mRNA and protein expressions of Ngb and HIF-1α showed positive in different tissues of the yak and cattle telencephalon. Ngb expression in tissues of the yak recorded higher as compare to cattle while HIF-1α expression was found higher in cattle than yak. The HIF-1α expression in some tissues of yak telencephalon was consistent with the cattle. The results documented that HIF-1α may have a direct or indirect synergistic effect on Ngb expression in the yak telencephalon to improve hypoxia adaptation. It is suggested that yak may need more Ngb expression for adaptation, but the expression of HIF-1α seems to be down-regulated during long-term adaptation, and the specific causes of this phenomenon needs to be further verified.

O telencéfalo refere-se à parte anterior e mais desenvolvida do prosencéfalo, consistindo principalmente dos hemisférios cerebrais. O estudo determinou a expressão de neuroglobina (Ngb) e fator indutível por hipóxia (HIF-1α) no telencéfalo de iaques e bovinos e comparou a expressão e o padrão de distribuição de Ngb e HIF-1α nos dois animais. Imuno-histoquímica (IHC), reação em cadeia da polimerase quantitativa em tempo real (qRT-PCR) e Western blot (WB) foram empregados para investigar a expressão de Ngb e Hif-1α no telencéfalo de iaques e bovinos. As expressões de mRNA e proteínas de Ngb e HIF-1α mostraram-se positivas em diferentes tecidos do telencéfalo de iaque e bovino. A expressão de Ngb nos tecidos do iaque foi registrada mais alta em comparação com o gado, enquanto a expressão do HIF-1α foi encontrada mais alta no gado do que no iaque. A expressão de HIF-1α em alguns tecidos do telencéfalo de iaque foi consistente com o gado. Os resultados documentaram que o HIF-1α pode ter um efeito sinérgico direto ou indireto na expressão de Ngb no telencéfalo de iaque para melhorar a adaptação à hipóxia. É sugerido que o iaque pode precisar de mais expressão de Ngb para adaptação, mas a expressão de HIF-1α parece ser regulada para baixo durante a adaptação de longo prazo, e as causas específicas desse fenômeno precisam ser verificadas.

Comparative study on the distribution and expression of Neuroglobin and Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α in the telencephalon of yak and cattle / Estudo comparativo da distribuição e expressão de fator-1 indutível por neuroglobina e hipóxia no telencéfalo de iaques e bovinos

Abstract The telencephalon refers to the most highly developed and anterior part of the forebrain, consisting mainly of the cerebral hemispheres. The study determined Neuroglobin (Ngb) and Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF-1α) expression in the telencephalon of yak and cattle, and compare the expression and distribution pattern of Ngb and HIF-1α in the two animals. Immunohistochemistry (IHC), quantitative real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR), and Western blot (WB) were employed to investigate Ngb and Hif-1α expression in the telencephalon of yak and cattle. mRNA and protein expressions of Ngb and HIF-1α showed positive in different tissues of the yak and cattle telencephalon. Ngb expression in tissues of the yak recorded higher as compare to cattle while HIF-1α expression was found higher in cattle than yak. The HIF-1α expression in some tissues of yak telencephalon was consistent with the cattle. The results documented that HIF-1α may have a direct or indirect synergistic effect on Ngb expression in the yak telencephalon to improve hypoxia adaptation. It is suggested that yak may need more Ngb expression for adaptation, but the expression of HIF-1α seems to be down-regulated during long-term adaptation, and the specific causes of this phenomenon needs to be further verified.

Resumo O telencéfalo refere-se à parte anterior e mais desenvolvida do prosencéfalo, consistindo principalmente dos hemisférios cerebrais. O estudo determinou a expressão de neuroglobina (Ngb) e fator indutível por hipóxia (HIF-1α) no telencéfalo de iaques e bovinos e comparou a expressão e o padrão de distribuição de Ngb e HIF-1α nos dois animais. Imuno-histoquímica (IHC), reação em cadeia da polimerase quantitativa em tempo real (qRT-PCR) e Western blot (WB) foram empregados para investigar a expressão de Ngb e Hif-1α no telencéfalo de iaques e bovinos. As expressões de mRNA e proteínas de Ngb e HIF-1α mostraram-se positivas em diferentes tecidos do telencéfalo de iaque e bovino. A expressão de Ngb nos tecidos do iaque foi registrada mais alta em comparação com o gado, enquanto a expressão do HIF-1α foi encontrada mais alta no gado do que no iaque. A expressão de HIF-1α em alguns tecidos do telencéfalo de iaque foi consistente com o gado. Os resultados documentaram que o HIF-1α pode ter um efeito sinérgico direto ou indireto na expressão de Ngb no telencéfalo de iaque para melhorar a adaptação à hipóxia. É sugerido que o iaque pode precisar de mais expressão de Ngb para adaptação, mas a expressão de HIF-1α parece ser regulada para baixo durante a adaptação de longo prazo, e as causas específicas desse fenômeno precisam ser verificadas.

Neuroanatomy of two species of genus Myliobatis (Chondrichthyes: Myliobatoidea) / Neuroanatomía de dos especies del género Myliobatis (Chondrichthyes: Myliobatoidea)

Several studies on the elasmobranchs neuroanatomy have shown that their brain is more complex than previously thought, and had significant intra and interspecific variations. The objective of this work was conducting a comparative encephalic neuroanatomy study of two species of genus Myliobatis. In total, 16 organisms of genera Myliobatis californica and Myliobatis longirostris, collected in the coasts of Kino Bay, Sonora, Mexico, were used. In Myliobatis, the brain has a long telencephalon and the posterior central nucleus is poorly developed. Their cerebellum is asymmetric, has several sulci, most of which are transversally oriented, with four lobes (anterior, medium and two posterior), a condition which has not been reported for any other species. It was observed that, despite the morphology of M. californica and M. longirostris is similar, there are some significant differences. Both species have moderate foliation, but M. californica has more sulci. In the diencephalon of M. californica, it was observed that the lobes of the infundibulum are oval-shaped and separated, while in M. longirostris, such lobes are rounded and near the medium line. It has to be highlighted that Myliobatis belongs to the most derived batoid group; nevertheless, its brain is considerably less complex, as compared to what has been reported for the most derived milyobatoids species.

Diversos estudios sobre la neuroanatomía de los elasmobranquios han demostrado que el cerebro es más complejo de lo que se pensaba y presenta considerables variaciones tanto intra como interespecíficas. El objetivo de este trabajo fue realizar un estudio de neuroanatomía comparada del encéfalo de dos especies del género Myliobatis. Se utilizaron un total de 16 organismos de Myliobatis californica y Myliobatis longirostris, los cuales fueron colectados en las costas de Bahía Kino, Son., México. El cerebro de Myliobatis tiene un telencéfalo largo, el núcleo central posterior está poco desarrollado; el cerebelo es asimétrico, presenta surcos que en su mayoría están orientados transversalmente, con cuatro lóbulos (anterior, medio y dos posteriores), condición que no ha sido reportada para otra especie. Se observó que, aunque M. californica y M. longirostris presentan una morfología similar existen ciertas diferencias. En ambas especies presentan una foliación moderada; sin embargo, en M. californica se observan más surcos. En el diencéfalo de M. californica se observa que los lóbulos del infundíbulo son ovalados y están separados, mientras que en M. longirostris son redondeados y se encuentran próximos a la línea media. Es importante señalar que, pese a que Myliobatis pertenece al grupo de batoideos más derivado, su cerebro es considerablemente menos complejo de lo que se ha reportado para las especies de miliobatoideos más derivadas.

Comparative morphology and histology of the brain in Chinese toad ( Bufo gargarizans ) and chinese fire-billed newt ( Cynops orientalis ) / Morfología e histología comparada del cerebro en el sapo chino ( Bufo gargarizans ) y el tritón vientre de fuego chino ( Cynops orientalis )

The morphological and histological structure of the brains of Bufo gargarizans and Cynops orientalis were observed by anatomy and light microscopy. The results show that the brains of Bufo gargarizans and Cynops orientalis are divided into 5 parts which include the telencephalon, diencephalon, mesencephalon, cerebellum and medulla oblongata. The telencephalon consists of the olfactory bulb and the cerebral hemisphere. The olfactory bulb is developed that has two pairs of olfactory nerve. Bufo gargarizan has a symmetrical oval hemisphere optic lobes; Cynops orientalis only has a spherical optic lobe. The cerebellum is situated behind the optic lobe and closely connected with the myelencephalon. In this paper, the morphological and histological differences between the two species are discussed. The proportion of cerebral hemisphere is gradually increasing, which correlated with a progressive increase in the number of neuronal cell classes, and reflected in behavior complexity.

La estructura morfológica e histológica de los cerebros de Bufo gargarizans y Cynops orientalis se observó mediante anatomía y microscopía óptica. Los resultados muestran que los cerebros de Bufo gargarizans y Cynops orientalis se dividen en 5 partes, que incluyen el telencéfalo, diencéfalo, mesencéfalo, cerebelo y mielencéfalo. El telencéfalo consiste en bulbo olfatorio y hemisferio cerebral. El bulbo olfatorio tiene dos pares de nervios olfatorios. Los lóbulos ópticos de Bufo gargarizans son ovalados y simétricos en ambos hemisferios cerebrales; Cynops orientalis tiene solo un lóbulo óptico esférico. El cerebelo está situado detrás del lóbulo óptico y está estrechamente conectado con el mielencéfalo. En este trabajo, se discuten las diferencias morfológicas e histológicas entre las dos especies. El tamaño del hemisferio cerebral aumenta gradualmente, lo que se correlaciona con un aumento progresivo de células neuronales en los núcleos, reflejándose en la complejidad del comportamiento.

Small-scale environmental enrichment and exercise enhance learning and spatial memory of Carassius auratus, and increase cell proliferation in the telencephalon: an exploratory study

Carassius auratus is a teleost fish that has been largely used in behavioral studies. However, little is known about potential environmental influences on its performance of learning and memory tasks. Here, we investigated this question in C. auratus, and searched for potential correlation between exercise and visuospatial enrichment with the total number of telencephalic glia and neurons. To that end, males and females were housed for 183 days in either an enriched (EE) or impoverished environment (IE) aquarium. EE contained toys, natural plants, and a 12-hour/day water stream for voluntary exercise, whereas the IE had none of the above. A third plus-maze aquarium was used for spatial and object recognition tests. Different visual clues in 2 of its 4 arms were used to guide fish to reach the criteria to complete the task. The test consisted of 30 sessions and was concluded when each animal performed three consecutive correct choices or seven alternated, each ten trials. Learning rates revealed significant differences between EE and IE fish. The optical fractionator was used to estimate the total number of telencephalic cells that were stained with cresyl violet. On average, the total number of cells in the subjects from EE was higher than those from subjects maintained in IE (P=0.0202). We suggest that environmental enrichment significantly influenced goldfish spatial learning and memory abilities, and this may be associated with an increase in the total number of telencephalic cells.

Telencephalon vascularity in sheep (Ovis aries)

The studies into the vascularity of the telencephalon in Polish Merino sheep of both sexes were made on 60 cerebral hemispheres. It was found that the middle cerebral artery is the most powerful vessel supplying blood to the telencephalon. The artery gets divided into ten permanent branches. Two olfactory arteries supply the area of the telencephalon located on the border between the old and the new cortex. The other eight branches get divided into three branches running to the region of the frontal lobus of the brain, two branches - to the region of the parietal lobus and three temporal branches heading for the temporal region, supplying blood to the new cortex only. The frontal, parietal and temporal branches descended independently from the main trunk of the middle cerebral artery or first formed a common trunk. Common trunks for respective groups of branches have been referred to as: the anterior, superior and posterior middle cerebral arteries. The posterior olfactory artery in 6.7% of the cases was an independent branch from the rostral cerebral artery.(AU)

Microglia and neurons in the hippocampus of migratory sandpipers

The semipalmated sandpiper Calidris pusilla and the spotted sandpiper Actitis macularia are long- and short-distance migrants, respectively. C. pusilla breeds in the sub-arctic and mid-arctic tundra of Canada and Alaska and winters on the north and east coasts of South America. A. macularia breeds in a broad distribution across most of North America from the treeline to the southern United States. It winters in the southern United States, and Central and South America. The autumn migration route of C. pusilla includes a non-stop flight over the Atlantic Ocean, whereas autumn route of A. macularia is largely over land. Because of this difference in their migratory paths and the visuo-spatial recognition tasks involved, we hypothesized that hippocampal volume and neuronal and glial numbers would differ between these two species. A. macularia did not differ from C. pusilla in the total number of hippocampal neurons, but the species had a larger hippocampal formation and more hippocampal microglia. It remains to be investigated whether these differences indicate interspecies differences or neural specializations associated with different strategies of orientation and navigation.

Investigação de alterações cromossômicas em pacientes com malformação do corpo caloso / Investigation of chromosomal abnormalities in patients with corpus callosum malformations

O corpo caloso é a maior comissura cerebral, responsável pela conexão entre os hemisférios cerebrais. Anatomicamente está localizado na profundidade da fissura inter-hemisférica e é dividido em quatro regiões: esplênio, corpo, joelho e rostro, que se continua inferiormente na lamina rostralis. A malformação do corpo caloso (MCC) representa uma desorganização na arquitetura cerebral, resultante da impossibilidade parcial ou completa das fibras da comissura calosa atravessarem a linha média. Pode estar associada a outras malformações, tanto do sistema nervoso central quanto de outros órgãos. As causas de malformações do corpo caloso são múltiplas, podendo ser ambientais, vasculares ou genéticas. As malformações do corpo caloso são comuns, principalmente entre as crianças com distúrbio do desenvolvimento neuropsicomotor ou retardo mental, mas podem também ser observada em indivíduos normais. Existem mais de 50 síndromes clínicas, autossômicas ou ligadas ao X, dominantes ou recessivas, associadas a MCC. A investigação de pacientes com malformação de corpo caloso por meio do cariótipo com bandas G identificou cerca de 20 regiões cromossômicas associadas a esta malformação. Nos últimos anos, novas técnicas de investigação cromossômica com alta resolução tornam-se disponíveis, como a hibridação comparativa do genoma em microarranjos (CGH-array). O CGH-array permite uma análise rápida de todo o genoma em alta resolução, possibilitando reconhecer variações no número de cópias de regiões genômicas com de 0,1 a 1 Mb, e desta forma detectar microdeleções ou microduplicações que não são passiveis de serem reconhecidas pelo cariótipo com bandas G, que é capaz de detectar alterações com no mínimo 4 Mb. Nesta investigação foram incluídos 21 sujeitos com MCC, associada ou não a outras malformações encefálicas ou de outros órgãos, e atraso do desenvolvimento neuropsicomotor ou retardo mental, sem etiologia definida. Estes sujeitos foram investigados com o objetivo...

The corpus callosum is the largest cerebral commissure and is responsible for interconnection of cerebral hemispheres. It is located in the deepest part of the interhemispheral fissure and is divided in four regions: splenium, body, genum and rostrum, which is prolonged inferiorly as lamina rostralis. Corpus callosum malformation (CCM) is a cerebral architecture disorganization caused by complete or partial failure of callosum fibers to cross the midline. It may be associated to other malformations, both from central nervous system and other organs. Many factors can contribute do CCM, including environmental, vascular and genetics. CCM are particularly common among mentally retarded or developmentally delayed children but can also be observed in cognitively normal individuals. There are more than 50 clinical syndromes associated to CCM, occurring sporadically or inherited as an autosomal or X-linked, dominant or recessive trait. Karyotype with G-banding disclosed around to 20 chromosomal regions associated to CCM. In the last few years, new techniques for high resolution chromosomal investigation, as comparative genomic hybridization array (CGH-array), became available. CGH-array allows fast analysis in high resolution of the genome, allowing the determination of copy number variations (microduplications and microdeletions) of genomic regions, with minimum size of 0, 1 to 1 Mb. This resolution is much larger than of the conventional karyotype, which is able to detect abnormalities of at least 4 Mb. This investigation included 21 subjects with CCM without defined etiology, associated or not to additional brain or other internal organ malformation and with developmental delay or mental retardation. These individuals were investigated for numeric or structural chromosomal abnormalities with karyotype with G-banding and for genomic copy number variations, using CGH-array. Karyotype disclosed abnormalities in two individuals (9.5%): one patient had a derived...

Polioencefalomalacia em bovinos: epidemiologia, sinais clínicos e distribuição das lesões no encéfalo / Bovine polioencephalomalacia: epidemiology, clinical signs and distribution of lesions in the brain

Trinta e um casos de polioencefalomalacia (PEM) diagnosticados de 1999-2008 em bovinos do Sul (13 casos) e Centro-Oeste (18 casos) brasileiros foram estudados. As taxas de morbidade (0,04 por cento-6,66 por cento), mortalidade (0,04 por cento-6,66 por cento) e letalidade (50 por cento-100 por cento) foram semelhantes em ambas as regiões estudadas. Não houve uma associação clara entre os casos de PEM e a idade, sexo dos bovinos e sazonalidade. Os casos ocorreram principalmente em bovinos criados de forma extensiva em pastagem. Na Região Sul a doença afetou principalmente bovinos jovens (um ano de idade ou menos), enquanto que principalmente bovinos mais velhos (3 anos de idade ou mais) foram afetados no Centro-Oeste. Os sinais clínicos mais frequentemente observados incluíram cegueira, incoordenação, andar em círculos, opistótono, decúbito e movimentos de pedalagem. A evolução do quadro clínico variou de 12 horas a 8 dias (media 3 dias e meio). Em 11 encéfalos não foram observadas alterações macroscópicas; as principais alterações macroscópicas nos outros casos incluíam congestão com tumefação e achatamento das circunvoluções, amolecimento e amarelamento do córtex telencefálico, focos de hemorragia no tronco encefálico, cerebelo e telencéfalo e herniação cerebelar. As principais alterações histológicas ocorreram no córtex dos lobos telencefálicos occipital, parietal e frontal; no entanto, lesões menos acentuadas e menos frequentemente observadas ocorreram no hipocampo, núcleos da base, tálamo, mesencéfalo e cerebelo. O tipo de lesão microscópica cortical era consistente em todos os casos e incluía necrose neuronal (neurônio vermelho) laminar segmentar, espongiose, tumefação do núcleo das células endoteliais, astrócitos Alzheimer tipo II e infiltração por células gitter. Em 20 por cento dos casos havia um leve infiltrado celular linfo-histiocitário e em 13 por cento dos casos havia leve infiltrado de neutrófilos e eosinófilos. Adicionalmente, ...

Thirty one cases of polioencephalomalacia (PEM) diagnosed from 1999-2008 in cattle from the Southern (13 cases) and Midwestern (18 cases) Brazil were studied. Morbidity (0.04 percent-6.66 percent), mortality (0.04 percent-6.66 percent), and lethality (50 percent-100 percent) rates were similar in both regions studied. There was no clear association between PEM cases and age, sex or seasonality. Cases occurred mainly in cattle raised at pasture; in the Southern the disease affected mainly young cattle (one-year old or less) while mainly older cattle (three-year-old or older) were affected in the Midwest. Clinical signs more frequently observed included blindness, incoordination, circling, opisthotonus, recumbence and peddling movements. Clinical course varied from 12 hours to 8 days (average three days and a half). In 11 cases no gross changes were observed in the brain. Main gross findings in the brain of remaining cases included congestion with swelling and flattening of gyri, softening and yellow discoloration of cerebral cortex, hemorrhagic foci in the brain stem, cerebellum and telencephalon, and cerebellar herniation. The main histopathological changes were in the cortex of occipital, parietal and frontal telencephalic lobes; however less prominent and less frequently found lesions occurred in the hippocampus, basal nuclei, thalamus, midbrain, and cerebellum. The type of microscopic cortical lesions was consistent in all cases and included segmentar laminar neuronal necrosis (red neurons), spongiosis, swollen of vascular endothelial nuclei, Alzheimer type II astrocytes and infiltration of gitter cells. In 20 percent of the cases there was mild lymphohistiocytic cellular infiltrate and in 13 percent of the cases there was mild infiltrate by neutrophils and eosinophils. Additionally, mild to moderate necro-hemorrhagic lesions were observed in 49 percent of the cases in the basal nuclei, in 39 percent of the cases in brain stem and...

Chlorpheniramine impairs functional recovery in Carassius auratus after telencephalic ablation

We determined the effect of an H1 receptor antagonist on the functional recovery of Carassius auratus submitted to telencephalic ablation. Five days after surgery the fish underwent a spatial-choice learning paradigm test. The fish, weighing 6-12 g, were divided into four groups: telencephalic ablation (A) or sham lesion (S) and saline (SAL) or chlorpheniramine (CPA, ip, 16 mg/kg). For eight consecutive days each animal was trained individually in sessions separated by 24 h (alternate days). Training trials (T1-T8) consisted of finding the food in one of the feeders, which were randomly blocked for each subject. Animals received an intraperitoneal injection of SAL or CPA 10 min after the training trials. The time spent by the animals in each group to find the food (latency) was analyzed separately at T1 and T8 by the Kruskal-Wallis test, followed by the Student Newman-Keuls test. At T1 the latencies (mean ± SEM) of the A-SAL (586.3 ± 13.6) and A-CPA (600 ± 0) groups were significantly longer than those of the S-SAL (226.14 ± 61.15) and S-CPA (356.33 ± 68.8) groups. At T8, the latencies of the A-CPA group (510.11 ± 62.2) remained higher than those of the other groups, all of which showed significantly shorter latencies (A-SAL = 301.91 ± 78.32; S-CPA = 191.58 ± 73.03; S-SAL = 90.28 ± 41) compared with T1. These results support evidence that training can lead to functional recovery of spatial-choice learning in telencephalonless fish and also that the antagonist of the H1 receptor impairs it.

Chlorpheniramine facilitates inhibitory avoidance in teleosts submitted to telencephalic ablation

The present study investigated the involvement of H(1) histaminegic receptor on the acquisition of inhibitory avoidance in Carassius auratus submitted to telencephalic ablation. The fish were submitted to telencephalic ablation 5 days before the experiment. The inhibitory avoidance procedure included 1 day for habituation, 3 days for training composed of 3 trials each (1st day: T1, T2, T3; 2nd day: 2T1, 2T2, 2T3; 3rd day: 3T1, 3T2, 3T3) and 1 day for test. On training days, the fish were placed in a white compartment, after 30 s the door was opened. When the fish crossed to a black compartment, a weight was dropped (aversive stimuli). Immediately after the third trial, on training days, the fish received, intraperitoneally, one of the pharmacological treatments (saline (N = 20), 8 (N = 12) or 16 (N = 13) µg/g chlorpheniramine, CPA). On the test day, the time to cross to the black compartment was determined. The latency of the saline group increased significantly only on the 3rd trial of the 2nd training day (mean ± SEM, T1 (50.40 ± 11.69), 2T3 (226.05 ± 25.01); ANOVA: P = 0.0249, Dunn test: P < 0.05). The group that received 8 µg/g CPA showed increased latencies from the 2nd training day until the test day (T1 (53.08 ± 17.17), 2T2 (197.75 ± 35.02), test (220.08 ± 30.98); ANOVA: P = 0.0022, Dunn test: P < 0.05)). These results indicate that CPA had a facilitating effect on memory. We suggest that the fish submitted to telencephalic ablation were able to learn due to the local circuits of the mesencephalon and/or diencephalon and that CPA interferes in these circuits, probably due an anxiolytic-like effect.

Chlorpheniramine impairs spatial choice learning in telencephalon-ablated fish

This work investigated the effect of the Hj receptor blockade in the forebrain of ablated Carassius auratus in a simple stimulus-response learning task using a T-maze test with positive reinforcement. The goldfish were submitted to surgery for removal of both telencephalic lobes five days before beginning the experiment. A T-shaped glass aquarium was employed, with two feeders located at the extremities of the long arm. One of the two feeders was blocked. The experimental triáis were performed in nine consecutive days. Each fish was individually placed in the short arm and confined there for thirty seconds, then it was allowed to swim through the aquarium to search for food for ten minutes (máximum period). Time to find food was analysed in seconds. Animáis were injected intraperitoneally with chlorpheniramine (CPA) at 16 mg/kg of body weight or saline after every trial, ten minutes after being placed back in the home aquarium. The results show that all the training latencies of the A-SAL group were higher than the latencies of the S-SAL group. The S-SAL group had decreased latencies from the second trial on, while the S-CPA group showed decreased latencies after the fourth trial. The A-SAL group showed reduced latencies after the fifth trial, but the A-CPA group mainteined the latencies throughout the experiment. This suggests that CPA impairs the consolidation of learning both on telencephalon ablated animáis and in sham-operated ones through its action on mesencephalic structures of the brain and/or on the cerebellum in teleost fish.

Cuantificación de la activación cerebral mediante exploración PET relacionada con estados de alerta o relajación / Quantification of the cerebral activation by means of PET exploration related with arousal or relaxation states

En un reciente estudio publicado en esta revista, empleamos una técnica de cuantificación de la actividad PET que nos permite la detección de áreas del cerebro con una actividad patológica frente a una base normativa. En nuestro esfuerzo por comprobar la eficacia del método estamos desarrollando diversos estudios para verificar su validez. En el presente trabajo mostramos que es posible observar la actividad cerebral de un sujeto control en diferentes niveles de alerta. En particular, la actividad de regiones frontales y parietales del hemisferio derecho se encuentran incrementadas como consecuencia de un estado de alerta mayor respecto del estado de relajación.

In a recent study published in this journal, we use a quantification technique for the PET exploration that allows us the detection of areas of the brain with a pathological activity compared to a normative database. In our effort to check the effectiveness of the method diverse studies have been developed to verify the validity of the method. In the present experiment, we show an interesting result that confirms that is possible to observe the brain activity of a healthy control in different levels of arousal. In particular, the activity of frontal and parietal regions of the right hemisphere is enhanced as a consequence of an increased level of arousal compared to the relaxation state.

Oximetría cerebral durante paro circulatorio hipotérmico y perfusión cerebral retrógrada / Cerebral oximetry during hypothermic circulatory arrest with retrograde cerebral perfusion

Se presenta el caso de una paciente de 54 años que ingresa con el diagnóstico de disección aórtica tipo A. La reparación del defecto y reemplazo se realiza con paro circulatorio hipotérmico profundo por comprometer el nacimiento del tronco braquiocefálico y perfusión cerebral retrógrada como método de protección cerebral. Durante todo el procedimiento se monitorizó la oximetría cerebral regional para evaluar disminuciones de la saturación y riesgo de isquemia en relación a cambios en la hemodinamia asociados al paro circulatorio, a la perfusión cerebral retrógrada y a las distintas medidas tomadas para aumentar el periodo libre de isquemia durante el paro. La disminución de la oximetría se relaciona a disminución del aporte de oxígeno, y por lo tanto, a un mayor riesgo de isquemia. En el presente caso, se observó el beneficio del uso de perfusión cerebral retrógrada como método de protección cerebral.

A case report of a 54 year patient with a type A aortic disecction is presented. Because of braquiocephalic compromise, the surgery was performed under deep hypotermic circulatory arrest. Retrograde cerebral perfusion was used for cerebral protection. Regional cerebral oxymetry was monitored during the entire procedure in order to correlate hemodynamic changes associated to circulatory arrest with reduction of saturation, risk of ischemia and therapeutics used for augmenting ischemic free periods. The reduction of oxygen supply correlates with low oxygen deliver and with high risk of ischemia. Benefits in cerebral protection were seen with the use of retrograde cerebral perfusion.

Determinación estadística de áreas cerebrales patológicas empleando tomografía por emisión de positrones / Statistical analysis of pathological brain areas using positron emission tomography

Los estudios de neuroimagen funcional permiten observar cuáles pueden ser las localizaciones de los diversos procesos neurofisiológicos que son la base de los procesos psicológicos como la memoria, atención, etc. Sin embargo, para un análisis científico y/o clínico de esta relación entre estructura y función es necesario desarrollar métodos de cuantificación que permitan la comprobación de las hipótesis planteadas empleando análisis estadísticos. En el presente trabajo presentamos un método que permite esta cuantificación y lo hemos comprobado tanto en un paciente como en un sujeto control. Los resultados obtenidos invitan a la aplicación del método tanto en estudios científicos como en la práctica clínica.

Functional neuroimaging studies allow knowing the localization of the diverse neurophysiological processes that are the substrate of psychological processes like memory, attention… Nevertheless, in order to do a clinic or scientific analysis of the relation between function and structure is necessary to develop quantification methods to probe the established hypothesis using statistical analysis. In this work we present a method that allow the quantification. This one was used in one Alzheimer disease patient and in one healthy person. This previous results invite to the application of the method in scientific studies and in clinical practice.

Proteção cerebral: sítios de canulação arterial e vias de perfusão do cérebro / Cerebral protection: sites of arterial cannulation and brain perfusion routes

O método de perfusão encefálica para a adequada proteção cerebral evoluiu desde o início da circulação extracorpórea. As limitações de tempo de atuação na parada circulatória total em hipotermia profunda, a ineficiente manutenção do metabolismo encefálico na retroperfusão cerebral e os cuidados relacionados à prevenção de eventos embólicos na perfusão cerebral seletiva resultaram em diferentes métodos de proteção cerebral durante sua evolução, principalmente nas operações que envolvem o arco aórtico. O fluxo arterial anterógrado, em oposição ao fluxo arterial retrógrado, e os sítios de canulação que permitem esse fluxo anterógrado são hoje, em associação à hipotermia moderada sistêmica, considerados o método mais efetivo de proteção cerebral.

Brain perfusion for adequate cerebral protection has changed over the years. The limitations of the time during total circulatory arrest with deep hypotermia, the inefficient cerebral metabolism during retrograde perfusion and special care to prevent cerebral embolism during antegrade perfusion have resulted in the development of different methods of cerebral protection during the evolution of aortic arch operations. Antegrade cerebral perfusion associated with moderate hypothermia is today, considered the best option for cerebral protection.

Determinación del perfil de dominancia cerebral o formas de pensamiento de los estudiantes de primer semestre del programa de bacteriología y laboratorio clínico de la Universidad Colegio Mayor de Cundinamarca / Determination of the profile of cerebral dominancy or forms of thought of the students of first semester of the bacteriology Program and Clinical Laboratory College Mayor of Cundinamarca

El objetivo de esta investigación, basados en el modelo de Ned Hermann y los estudios realizados por Omar Gardie, fue determinar el perfil de dominancia cerebral o formas de pensamiento de los estudiantes de primer semestre del programa de Bacteriología y Laboratorio Clínico de la Universidad Colegio Mayor de Cundinamarca. El 50/100 de los estudiantes presentan dominancia en el cuadrante cortical izquierdo, el 43/100 en el cuadrante límbico derecho y el 13,3/100 en el cortical derecho. 46.6 de los estudiantes poseen dominancia simple y el 50/100 dominancia doble. Los resultados obtenidos permitirán a los docentes conocer las potencialidades cognitivas y las formas de pensamiento de sus estudiantes con el fin de direccionar la búsqueda y la construcción de conocimiento en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje de los mismos. El 50/100 de los estudiantes presentan dominancia en el cuadrante cortical izquierdo, el 43/100 en el cuadrante límbico derecho y el 13,3/100 en el cortical derecho. El 46,6/100 de los estudiantes poseen dominancia simple y el 50/100 dominancia doble.

Revisão anatômica do seio venoso sagital dorsal no crânio de cães braquicéfalos / Anatomic features of the dorsal venous sinus in skull of brachycephalous dogs

Os seios venosos do crânio realizam a drenagem do cérebro e da medula espinhal, a fim de manter a homeostasia e o perfeito funcionamento do sistema nervoso central. Lesões na rede venosa cerebral podem causar déficits severos tais como hemiplegia, hemorragia, coma e morte. Os seios venosos são importantes pontos de referência para a realização de técnicas cirúrgicas de acesso ao cérebro. Este estudo visou analisar o trajeto do seio venoso sagital dorsal no crânio de cães braquicéfalos. Os animais braquicéfalos possuem crânios curtos e com características biométricas específicas. Foram utilizados 8 crânios de cães da raça Boxer, que foram submetidos à injeção de látex com pigmento corado e sulfato de bário. Após a perfusão, foram feitas radiografias contrastadas e imagens de tomografia computadorizada para relacionar o seio venoso com a estrutura óssea e dimensões relativas da calota craniana. Os crânios apresentaram índice cefálico (IC) médio de 91,24±8,34mm e índice crânio-facial (ICF) médio de 2,89±0,23mm. As mensurações do seio venoso sagital dorsal, relativas à calota craniana, apresentaram os seguintes valores médios: Area = 10,18±4,69mm²; D1 = 11,84±2,35mm; D2 = 19,57±2,61mm; D3 = 17,88±2,31mm; D4 = 25,32±5,68mm; e D5= 24,84±4,40mm.

The dorsal venous sinuses of the Dura mater perform the cerebral and spinal cord drainage to keep homeostasis of the Central Nervous System. Injuries in the cerebral venous network may cause severe deficits, including hemiplegia, hemorrhage, coma and death. The main landmark for neurologic surgery is the Dura mater venous sinus. The aim of this study is to analyse the pathway of the Sinus sagittalis dorsalis in the brachycephalous skull, as the brachycephalous dogs have specific characteristics. The skulls were taken from 8 Boxer dogs and venous perfusion with latex and barium sulfate solution was performed. After the perfusion, radiographies and tomographies were obtained to relate the dorsal sagittal sinus and the skull averages. The cephalic index showed mean values of 91.24±8.34cm, and the cranio-facial index was 2.89±0.23cm. The venous sinus mensuration interface to the skull was: Area = 10.18±4.69mm²; D1 = 11.84±2.35mm; D2 = 19.57±2.61mm; D3 = 17.88±2.31mm; D4 = 25.32±5.68mm e D5 = 24.84±4.40mm.