The Prevalence of Educational Neuromyths among Hungarian Pre-Service Teachers.

Teachers with poor neuroliteracy fail to distinguish scientific evidence from neuromyths (NM), which might lead to the implementation of pseudoscientific educational methods. The prevalence of NM and general knowledge about the brain (GKAB) among in-service and pre-service teachers has been assessed in multiple countries, but no such study has been performed in Hungary. The aims of this study were to (1) assess the neuroliteracy of pre-service teachers, (2) compare the results with those of previous studies and (3) analyze the factors influencing neuroliteracy. Our sample included 822 pre-service teachers from 12 Hungarian universities. We developed a survey including 10 NM and 13 GKAB statements, adapted from a widely used questionnaire. The average rate of incorrect answers to NM was 56.9%, whereas the average rate of correct answers to GKAB was 70.9%. Male gender and frequency of using Facebook as the primary information source about neuroscience were the only predictors of NM acceptance. In comparison with other studies, the Hungarian pre-service teachers had the second highest endorsement of NM. The most prevalent NM were linked to motor functions, which might be related to the widespread use and promotion of motor therapies in Hungary.

Postnatal expression of Doublecortin (Dcx) in the developing cerebellar cortex of mouse.

We have investigated the expression of Doublecortin (Dcx) protein in the developing cerebellum of mouse from postnatal 2nd day to postnatal 22nd day and in young adults by immunohistochemistry. Strong expression of Dcx was present in the inner zone of the external granule cell layer, and remained strong while postmitotic granule cell precursors were present in this transitory layer. Descending granule cell precursors exhibited Dcx immunostaining not only while migrating but for a short time also after their settlement. Dcx-immunostained cells appeared in deep cerebellocortical territories and in the cerebellar white matter during the first postnatal week. These bipolar cells were arranged in the sagittal plane and built up transitory migratory streams during the second postnatal week and their number gradually decreased during the third postnatal week. Upward migration of bipolar cells was observed while leaving the migratory streams, penetrating the internal granule cell layer and the molecular layer. These cells were considered as precursors of late migrating molecular layer interneurons. However, a proportion of Dcx-immunostained cells underwent a bipolar-to-multipolar dendritic remodellation and - on the basis of strong morphological similarities - was taken for "multipotent progenitor cells", described recently in the neocortex of adult rat.

Postnatal expression pattern of doublecortin (DCX) in some areas of the developing brain of mouse.

We have investigated the spatio-temporal expression pattern of doublecortin (DCX) protein from postnatal day (P) 2 to postnatal day (P) 22 in the brain of developing mouse. We compared the expression of DCX in the rostral migratory stream (RMS) and dentate gyrus of the hippocampus (DG). Weak expression of DCX was detected in the RMS at P5, it became gradually stronger during the second postnatal week and reached its strongest expression by P18-P22. Moderate DCX immunostaining was present in the DG at P11, its marked expression--characteristic of newly generated neurons in the adult DG -appeared only after P22. Morphological and functional maturation was different in the RMS and DG, continuous neurogenesis appeared earlier in the RMS than in the DG.

Distribution of mGluR1alpha and SMI 311 immunoreactive Lugaro cells in the kitten cerebellum.

The Lugaro cell is a feedback interneuron of the cerebellar cortex, recognizable by its characteristic morphology. Postnatal neuronal migration to the cortex has been described for several cerebellar interneurons. Since in our previous studies we observed Lugaro-like cells (LCs) in the white matter (WM) and internal granular layer (IGL) of the cerebellum of young cats, we assumed that a proportion of these cells migrate also postnatally to their destination. In the present study using and immunostaining for the metabotropic glutamate receptor mGluR1alpha and neurofilament protein SMI 311 the number and spatial distribution of LCs at different postnatal days were investigated. We found that the number and distribution of both mGluR1a-immunoreactive (ir) and of SMI 311-ir LCs changed with age in the developing cerebellar cortex of kittens: developing LCs express mGluR1alpha already in the newborn, while expression of SMI 311-ir in LCs appears only about a week later. At postnatal day 1 (P1) relatively few mGluR1-ir LCs were detected in the WM and at the border of WM and IGL. Later, their number increased sharply until P15 (6-7 fold) and decreased continuously between P15 and P135. SMI 311-ir LCs were not present at P1 and even at P8 only a few were observed in the WM or in infraganglionic positions. Their number increased gradually (12-14 fold) until adulthood when their number was stabilized at 8.000-10.000/cerebellum. At the same time the number of probably ectopic SMI 311-ir LCs decreased with age: at P22 about one third of them was found in "ectopic" position, whereas in the adult cat only about 10-12% of LCs's was either in the WM or scattered in the whole depth of the granular layer. These results suggest that: (1) most LCs appear in the cerebellar cortex postnatally; and (2) postnatal migration and incorporation of LCs to the cortex is a much longer process than previously expected, occurring even after the cytoarchitectonic built-up (about P65-P70 in cat) of the cerebellum.