Wireless Activation of Neurons in Brain Slices Using Nanostructured Semiconductor Photoelectrodes

Light rather than electrical current : The inner or outer surfaces of glass micropipettes can be coated with nanoparticles of a narrow‐band‐gap semiconductor. When visible or near‐infrared light is used for excitation, these micropipettes (labeled PE Stim in the image) can activate nearby neurons (labeled *) in brain tissue without the damage associated with electrical stimulation.

     

Olfactory receptors: molecular basis for recognition and discrimination of odors

The daunting task of our nose to detect and discriminate among thousands of low-molecular-weight organic compounds with diverse chemical structures and properties requires an enormous molecular recognition capacity. This is based on distinct proteins, capable of recognizing and binding odorous compounds, including odorant-binding proteins, which are supposed to shuttle odorous compounds through the nasal mucus, and most notably the odorant receptors, which are heptahelical membrane proteins coupling via G-proteins onto intracellular transduction cascades. From more than a thousand genes each olfactory neuron is supposed to express only one receptor subtype. Receptors appear to be selective but rather non-specific—i.e. a distinct odorant activates multiple receptors and individual receptors respond to multiple odorants. It is the molecular receptive range of its receptor type which determines the reaction spectrum of a sensory neuron. Populations of cells equipped with the same receptor type project their axons to common glomeruli, thereby transmitting the molecular receptive range of a receptor type into the receptive field of glomerulus. Recent insight into the molecular basis of odor recognition and the combinatorial coding principles of the olfactory system may provide some clues for the design and development of technical sensors, electronic noses. In this review more emphasis has been placed on physiological rather than analytical aspects.     

Application of the Catecholaminergic Neuron Electron Transport (CNET) Physical Substrate for Consciousness and Action Selection to Integrated Information Theory

A newly discovered physical mechanism involving incoherent electron tunneling in layers of the protein ferritin that are found in catecholaminergic neurons (catecholaminergic neuron electron transport or CNET) is hypothesized to support communication between neurons. Recent tests further confirm that these ferritin layers can also perform a switching function (in addition to providing an electron tunneling mechanism) that could be associated with action selection in those neurons, consistent with earlier predictions based on CNET. While further testing would be needed to confirm the hypothesis that CNET allows groups of neurons to communicate and act as a switch for selecting one of the neurons in the group to assist in reaching action potential, this paper explains how that hypothesized behavior would be consistent with Integrated Information Theory (IIT), one of a number of consciousness theories (CTs). While the sheer number of CTs suggest that any one of them alone is not sufficient to explain consciousness, this paper demonstrates that CNET can provide a physical substrate and action selection mechanism that is consistent with IIT and which can also be applied to other CTs, such as to conform them into a single explanation of consciousness.     

Evaluation of the Cytotoxicity of Ayahuasca Beverages

Ayahuasca is a beverage consumed at shamanic ceremonies and currently has gained popularity on recreational scenarios. It contains beta-carboline alkaloids and N,N-dimethyltryptamine, which possesses hallucinogenic effects. Only a few studies have elicited the psychoactive effects and the dose of such compounds on neurological dopaminergic cells or animals. In this work, we aimed to study the cytotoxic effects of these compounds present in ayahuasca beverages and on five different teas (Banisteriopsis caapi, Psychotria viridis, Peganum harmala, Mimosa tenuiflora and Dc Ab (commercial name)) preparations on dopaminergic immortalized cell lines. Moreover, a characterization of the derivative alkaloids was also performed. All the extracts were characterized by chromatographic systems and the effect of those compounds in cell viability and total protein levels were analyzed in N27 dopaminergic neurons cell line. This is the first article where cytotoxicity of ayahuasca tea is studied on neurological dopaminergic cells. Overall, results showed that both cell viability and protein contents decreased when cells were exposed to the individual compounds, as well as to the teas and to the two mixtures based on the traditional ayahuasca beverages.     

基于支持向量机的神经元形态分类

针对神经元的空间几何形态特征分类问题以及神经元的生长预测问题进行了探讨.结合神经元的形态数据,分别建立了基于支持向量机的神经元形态分类模型、基于主成分分析和支持向量机的神经元分类模型以及基于遗传算法和RBF网络的神经元生长预测模型,在较合理的假设下,对各个模型进行求解,得到了较理想的结果.     

Master–slave synchronization criteria for chaotic hindmarsh–rose neurons using linear feedback control

This article is concerned with master–slave synchronization for two chaotic Hindmarsh–Rose neurons. The main contribution of this article is that three synchronization criteria are derived by using linear feedback control without the estimation of bounds of state variables of controlled slave neurons. Three simulation examples are used to illustrate the effectiveness of our results. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity 21: 319–327, 2016     

镧、钆、镱三种稀土离子诱导背根神经元凋亡及膜上钾电流的比较研究

运用流式细胞仪和膜片钳技术研究La3+,Gd3+,Yb3+三种稀土离子诱导大鼠背根神经元DRG凋亡以及膜上钾离子通道的影响。结果表明:10,100,1000μmol.L-1LaCl3和GdCl3处理DRG神经元96 h,细胞不出现凋亡;YbCl3处理96 h,细胞的凋亡率明显递增。胞外La3+,Gd3+,Yb3+抑制瞬间外向钾电流IA,使IA的激活和失活过程都显著右移,抑制和右移的程度La3+最弱,Gd3+次之,Yb3+最强;胞内的La3+,Gd3+,Yb3+抑制延迟整流钾电流IK,抑制的程度也呈增长趋势。稀土离子在胞内外的结合位点不同;Yb3+较La3+和Gd3+的神经毒性强。