-
Proceedings of the National Academy of... Feb 2024Neuropeptide S (NPS) was postulated to be a wake-promoting neuropeptide with unknown mechanism, and a mutation in its receptor (NPSR1) causes the short sleep duration...
Neuropeptide S (NPS) was postulated to be a wake-promoting neuropeptide with unknown mechanism, and a mutation in its receptor (NPSR1) causes the short sleep duration trait in humans. We investigated the role of different NPS nuclei in sleep/wake regulation. Loss-of-function and chemogenetic studies revealed that NPS neurons in the parabrachial nucleus (PB) are wake-promoting, whereas peri-locus coeruleus (peri-LC) NPS neurons are not important for sleep/wake modulation. Further, we found that a NPS nucleus in the central gray of the pons (CGPn) strongly promotes sleep. Fiber photometry recordings showed that NPS neurons are wake-active in the CGPn and wake/REM-sleep active in the PB and peri-LC. Blocking NPS-NPSR1 signaling or knockdown of supported the function of the NPS-NPSR1 pathway in sleep/wake regulation. Together, these results reveal that NPS and NPS neurons play dichotomous roles in sleep/wake regulation at both the molecular and circuit levels.
Topics: Humans; Sleep; Pons; Locus Coeruleus; Neurons; Neuropeptides; Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled
PubMed: 38381789
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2320276121 -
Medicine Mar 2023Chronic lymphocytic inflammation with pontine perivascular enhancement responsive to steroids (CLIPPERS) is still a rare autoimmune disease in the world. In recent... (Review)
Review
Chronic lymphocytic inflammation with pontine perivascular enhancement responsive to steroids (CLIPPERS) is still a rare autoimmune disease in the world. In recent years, there are more and more reports about the clinical manifestations of CLIPPERS, but the specific etiology and pathogenesis are not clear. In this paper, by collating the literature reported in recent years, in the reported effective treatment cases, we found the current hypothesis about the pathogenesis of CLIPPERS. Three pathogenesis hypotheses: organ-specific autoimmunity; virus infection affects autoimmunity; and helper T lymphocyte 17 mediates autoimmunity. Although it is hypothetical, it is expected to further clarify the pathogenesis, evolution characteristics, and treatment of CLIPPERS, so as to provide a reference for further understanding of the disease. In the future, more observations and studies are needed to further verify the feasibility of the hypothesis. This article expands on atypical clinical manifestations and summarizes treatment options. Hope to provide a reference for clinical diagnosis and treatment of CLIPPERS.
Topics: Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Inflammation; Steroids; Treatment Outcome; Pons
PubMed: 36930124
DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000033211 -
Arquivos de Neuro-psiquiatria Oct 2020
Topics: Humans; Pons; Spinocerebellar Ataxias
PubMed: 33111846
DOI: 10.1590/0004-282X20200066 -
EBioMedicine Aug 2016Evidence indicates meditation facilitates affective regulation and reduces negative affect. It also influences resting-state functional connectivity between affective...
Evidence indicates meditation facilitates affective regulation and reduces negative affect. It also influences resting-state functional connectivity between affective networks and the posterior cingulate (PCC)/precuneus, regions critically implicated in self-referential processing. However, no longitudinal study employing active control group has examined the effect of meditation training on affective processing, PCC/precuneus connectivity, and their association. Here, we report that eight-week meditation, but not relaxation, training 'neutralized' affective processing of positive and negative stimuli in healthy elderly participants. Additionally, meditation versus relaxation training increased the positive connectivity between the PCC/precuneus and the pons, the direction of which was largely directed from the pons to the PCC/precuneus, as revealed by dynamic causal modeling. Further, changes in connectivity between the PCC/precuneus and pons predicted changes in affective processing after meditation training. These findings indicate meditation promotes self-referential affective regulation based on increased regulatory influence of the pons on PCC/precuneus, which new affective-processing strategy is employed across both resting state and when evaluating affective stimuli. Such insights have clinical implications on interventions on elderly individuals with affective disorders.
Topics: Aged; Brain; Brain Mapping; Emotions; Female; Gyrus Cinguli; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Meditation; Middle Aged; Pons; Relaxation
PubMed: 27349456
DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2016.06.018 -
Hellenic Journal of Nuclear Medicine 2019We aimed to evaluate the association between the availability of serotonin transporter (SERT) measured by ioflupane-DaTSCAN (I-FP-CIT) and imaged by single photon...
OBJECTIVE
We aimed to evaluate the association between the availability of serotonin transporter (SERT) measured by ioflupane-DaTSCAN (I-FP-CIT) and imaged by single photon emission tomography (SPET) and memory function in healthy subjects.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS
Specific binding of I-FP-CIT indicating SERT was achieved using a region of interest analysis. Spherical volumes of interest for midbrain and pons were defined. The cerebellum was chosen as a reference region. Specific binding ratios (SBR) in midbrain and pons representing SERT availability were measured as follows: SBR=(target-cerebellum)/cerebellum. A hundred and eighty-one healthy subjects (117 male, 64 female) were included in this study.
RESULTS
Specific binding ratios of both midbrain (P=0.025) and pons (P=0.006) of males was higher than that of females. None of the SBR showed a correlation with age both in males: (midbrain; P=0.736, pons; P=0.875) and in females (midbrain; P=0.294, pons; P=0.170). In all our cases, SERT availability of midbrain correlated positively with total recall score (rho=0.159, P=0.033), and delayed recall score (rho=0.149, P=0.046). In females, the correlation between SERT availability in midbrain and delayed recall score was significant (rho=0.320, P=0.010), however, not in males (rho=0.112, P=0.229).
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, we demonstrated that SERT availability was associated with memory function in healthy females from the PPMI database. Further studies are needed to clarify underlying mechanisms of this phenomenon.
Topics: Female; Healthy Volunteers; Humans; Male; Memory; Mesencephalon; Middle Aged; Pons; Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon; Tropanes
PubMed: 31587029
DOI: 10.1967/s002449911055 -
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal... Sep 2009Control of the timing of the inspiratory/expiratory (IE) phase transition is a hallmark of respiratory pattern formation. In principle, sensory feedback from pulmonary... (Review)
Review
Control of the timing of the inspiratory/expiratory (IE) phase transition is a hallmark of respiratory pattern formation. In principle, sensory feedback from pulmonary stretch receptors (Breuer-Hering reflex, BHR) is seen as the major controller for the IE phase transition, while pontine-based control of IE phase transition by both the pontine Kölliker-Fuse nucleus (KF) and parabrachial complex is seen as a secondary or backup mechanism. However, previous studies have shown that the BHR can habituate in vivo. Thus, habituation reduces sensory feedback, so the role of the pons, and specifically the KF, for IE phase transition may increase dramatically. Pontine-mediated control of the IE phase transition is not completely understood. In the present review, we discuss existing models for ponto-medullary interaction that may be involved in the control of inspiratory duration and IE transition. We also present intracellular recordings of pontine respiratory units derived from an in situ intra-arterially perfused brainstem preparation of rats. With the absence of lung inflation, this preparation generates a normal respiratory pattern and many of the recorded pontine units demonstrated phasic respiratory-related activity. The analysis of changes in membrane potentials of pontine respiratory neurons has allowed us to propose a number of pontine-medullary interactions not considered before. The involvement of these putative interactions in pontine-mediated control of IE phase transitions is discussed.
Topics: Action Potentials; Animals; Humans; Medulla Oblongata; Models, Biological; Neural Pathways; Pons; Rats; Respiratory Mechanics
PubMed: 19651653
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2009.0074 -
Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and... Jun 1969
Topics: Adult; Electrooculography; Female; Humans; Medulla Oblongata; Neurologic Examination; Nystagmus, Pathologic; Pons; Sella Turcica; Vestibular Function Tests
PubMed: 5795115
DOI: 10.1136/jnnp.32.3.202 -
Cell Sep 2016Urine release (micturition) serves an essential physiological function as well as a critical role in social communication in many animals. Here, we show a combined...
Urine release (micturition) serves an essential physiological function as well as a critical role in social communication in many animals. Here, we show a combined effect of olfaction and social hierarchy on micturition patterns in adult male mice, confirming the existence of a micturition control center that integrates pro- and anti-micturition cues. Furthermore, we demonstrate that a cluster of neurons expressing corticotropin-releasing hormone (Crh) in the pontine micturition center (PMC) is electrophysiologically distinct from their Crh-negative neighbors and sends glutamatergic projections to the spinal cord. The activity of PMC Crh-expressing neurons correlates with and is sufficient to drive bladder contraction, and when silenced impairs micturition behavior. These neurons receive convergent input from widespread higher brain areas that are capable of carrying diverse pro- and anti-micturition signals, and whose activity modulates hierarchy-dependent micturition. Taken together, our results indicate that PMC Crh-expressing neurons are likely the integration center for context-dependent micturition behavior.
Topics: Animals; Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone; Female; Glutamic Acid; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Muscle Contraction; Neurons; Pons; Smell; Spinal Cord; Urinary Bladder; Urination
PubMed: 27662084
DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2016.08.073 -
AJNR. American Journal of Neuroradiology 2001The human brain exhibits a complex pattern of differential aging. The purpose of this study was to examine whether age differences in the volume of cerebellar regions...
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
The human brain exhibits a complex pattern of differential aging. The purpose of this study was to examine whether age differences in the volume of cerebellar regions and the ventral pons are differential or generalized, whether the age-related shrinkage is linear or exponential, and whether there are sex differences in the size of the cerebellum and pons.
METHODS
The volumes of the cerebellar hemispheres (excluding the vermis and the peduncles), the vermis, and the ventral pons were estimated from the prospectively acquired MR scans of 190 healthy volunteers (aged 18-81 years). The relation between regional volumes, age, and sex was assessed while taking into account differences in body size (height).
RESULTS
We found a moderate age-related reduction in the volume of the cerebellar hemispheres and the cerebellar vermis. In contrast to previous findings that suggested differential vulnerability of the posterior vermis, the age-related shrinkage of the vermian lobules was uniform-about 2% per decade. In accord with all reports in the literature, the size of the ventral pons was unrelated to age. The volume of the cerebellar hemispheres, the vermis, and the ventral pons were larger in men, even after adjustment for height. The magnitude of the sex difference was the largest in the hemispheres and the anterior vermis, and the smallest in the lobules VI-VII (declive-folium-tuber).
CONCLUSION
Moderate age-related shrinkage of the cerebellum and lack of age-related differences in the ventral pons are robust phenomena. However, in all likelihood, the effects of age on the cerebellum are not differential but uniform. The cerebellum and the pons are larger in men than in women and the difference is especially pronounced in the cerebellar hemispheres and the anterior vermis.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging; Cerebellum; Female; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Middle Aged; Pons; Prospective Studies; Reference Values; Sex Factors
PubMed: 11415913
DOI: No ID Found -
Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and... Mar 2021Migraine is a complex disorder, involving peripheral and central brain structures, where mechanisms and site of attack initiation are an unresolved puzzle. While... (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
Migraine is a complex disorder, involving peripheral and central brain structures, where mechanisms and site of attack initiation are an unresolved puzzle. While abnormal pontine neuronal activation during migraine attacks has been reported, exact implication of this finding is unknown. Evidence suggests an important role of glutamate in migraine, implying a possible association of pontine hyperactivity to increased glutamate levels. Migraine without aura patients were scanned during attacks after calcitonin gene-related peptide and sildenafil in a double-blind, randomized, double-dummy, cross-over design, on two separate study days, by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy and pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling at 3T. Headache characteristics were recorded until 24 h after drug administrations. Twenty-six patients were scanned during migraine, yielding a total of 41 attacks. Cerebral blood flow increased in dorsolateral pons, ipsilateral to pain side during attacks, compared to outside attacks (13.6%, p = 0.009). Glutamate levels in the same area remained unchanged during attacks (p = 0.873), while total creatine levels increased (3.5%, p = 0.041). In conclusion, dorsolateral pontine activation during migraine was not associated with higher glutamate levels. However, the concurrently increased total creatine levels may suggest an altered energy metabolism, which should be investigated in future studies to elucidate the role of pons in acute migraine.
Topics: Adult; Arteries; Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide; Cerebrovascular Circulation; Creatine; Double-Blind Method; Energy Metabolism; Female; Glutamic Acid; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Middle Aged; Migraine Disorders; Pons; Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Sildenafil Citrate; Spin Labels; Vasodilator Agents; Young Adult
PubMed: 32423331
DOI: 10.1177/0271678X20906902