Faculty Bibliography

Melatonin, which is known to have sleep-promoting properties, has no morpho-physiological barriers and readily enters neurons and their subcellular compartments from both the blood and cerebrospinal fluid. It has multiple receptor-dependent and receptor-independent functions. Sleep is a neuronal function, and it can no longer be postulated that one or more anatomical structures fully control sleep. Neurons require sleep for metabolically driven restorative purposes, and as a result, the process of sleep is modulated by peripheral and central mechanisms. This is an important finding because it suggests that melatonin should have intracellular sleep-inducing properties. Based on recent evidence, it is proposed that melatonin induces sleep at the neuronal level independently of its membrane receptors. Thus, the hypnotic action of melatonin and the mechanisms involving the circadian rhythms are separate neurological functions. This is contrary to the presently accepted view.

Thalamocortical dynamics, the millisecond to second changes in activity of thalamocortical circuits, are central to perception, action and cognition. Generated by local circuitry and sculpted by neuromodulatory systems, these dynamics reflect the expression of vigilance states. In sleep, thalamocortical dynamics are thought to mediate "offline" functions including memory consolidation and synaptic scaling. Here, I discuss thalamocortical sleep dynamics and their modulation by the ascending arousal system and locally released neurochemicals. I focus on modulation of these dynamics by electrically silent astrocytes, highlighting the role of purinergic signaling in this glial form of communication. Astrocytes modulate cortical slow oscillations, sleep behavior, and sleep-dependent cognitive function. The discovery that astrocytes can modulate sleep dynamics and sleep-related behaviors suggests a new way of thinking about the brain, in which integrated circuits of neurons and glia control information processing and behavioral output.

BACKGROUND: Sleep plays an active role in memory consolidation. Sleep structure (REM/Slow wave activity [SWS]) can be modified after learning, and in some cortical circuits, sleep is associated with replay of the learned experience. While the majority of this work has focused on neocortical and hippocampal circuits, the olfactory system may offer unique advantages as a model system for exploring sleep and memory, given the short, non-thalamic pathway from nose to primary olfactory (piriform cortex), and rapid cortex-dependent odor learning. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We examined piriform cortical odor responses using local field potentials (LFPs) from freely behaving Long-Evans hooded rats over the sleep-wake cycle, and the neuronal modifications that occurred within the piriform cortex both during and after odor-fear conditioning. We also recorded LFPs from naive animals to characterize sleep activity in the piriform cortex and to analyze transient odor-evoked cortical responses during different sleep stages. Naive rats in their home cages spent 40% of their time in SWS, during which the piriform cortex was significantly hypo-responsive to odor stimulation compared to awake and REM sleep states. Rats trained in the paired odor-shock conditioning paradigm developed enhanced conditioned odor evoked gamma frequency activity in the piriform cortex over the course of training compared to pseudo-conditioned rats. Furthermore, conditioned rats spent significantly more time in SWS immediately post-training both compared to pre-training days and compared to pseudo-conditioned rats. The increase in SWS immediately after training significantly correlated with the duration of odor-evoked freezing the following day. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The rat piriform cortex is hypo-responsive to odors during SWS which accounts for nearly 40% of each 24 hour period. The duration of slow-wave activity in the piriform cortex is enhanced immediately post-conditioning, and this increase is significantly correlated with subsequent memory performance. Together, these results suggest the piriform cortex may go offline during SWS to facilitate consolidation of learned odors with reduced external interference

A potentially biomimetic approach toward the complex polyketide A-74528 is described. It is based on highly substituted biaryl compounds, synthesized using advanced cross-coupling and condensation methodologies.

Temporal focusing is a simple approach for achieving tight, optically sectioned excitation in nonlinear microscopy and multiphoton photo-manipulation. Key applications and advantages of temporal focusing involve propagation through scattering media, but the progressive broadening of the temporal focus has not been characterized. By combining a detailed geometrical optics model with Monte-Carlo scattering simulations we introduce and validate a simulation strategy for predicting temporal focusing characteristics in scattering and non-scattering media. The broadening of the temporal focus width with increasing depth in brain tissue is studied using both simulations and experiments for several key optical geometries, and an analytical approximation is found for the dependence of this broadening on the microscope's parameters in a transparent medium. Our results indicate that a multiphoton temporal focus has radically different broadening characteristics in deep tissue than those of a spatial focus.

Dystroglycan, which serves as a major extracellular matrix receptor in muscle and the central nervous system, requires extensive O-glycosylation to function. We identified a dystroglycan missense mutation (Thr192-->Met) in a woman with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy and cognitive impairment. A mouse model harboring this mutation recapitulates the immunohistochemical and neuromuscular abnormalities observed in the patient. In vitro and in vivo studies showed that the mutation impairs the receptor function of dystroglycan in skeletal muscle and brain by inhibiting the post-translational modification, mediated by the glycosyltransferase LARGE, of the phosphorylated O-mannosyl glycans on alpha-dystroglycan that is required for high-affinity binding to laminin

Methylphenidate and the amphetamines are the most frequently used medications for treating attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). These medications modulate both norepinephrine as well as dopamine. Methyl-phenidate is a pure blocker of the norepinephrine and dopamine transporters. The amphetamines also block reuptake of both catecholamines, but they also release all three monoamines, norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin, from presynaptic vesicles. Amphetamines are the most robust agents in increasing synaptic dopamine levels, since they do so regardless of the endogenous level of the relevant neurons. Stimulant-evoked synaptic increases of dopamine have been demonstrated in the striatum in humans, but pharmacologic effects are likely relevant to therapeutic action in other regions, particularly the prefrontal cortex. Blockade of noradrenergic reuptake in the prefrontal cortex may also indirectly increase prefrontal dopamine levels, but there is also evidence that noradrenergic effects are mediated by alpha-2a noradrenergic receptors. A recent study in non-human primates found that methylphenidate and atomoxetine both increased the efficiency of prefrontal pyramidal neurons, but via distinct mechanisms. Methylphenidate decreased non-specific signals, i.e., neuronal noise, via D1 receptors. By contrast, atomoxetine increased the strength of specific signals via activation of alpha-2 receptors. These findings, although in non-human primates, suggest that combinations of agents working on these complementary systems (D1 and alpha-2a) may be worth considering and evaluating rigorously in patients with ADHD with sub-optimal responses to monotherapy

Functional connectivity can be measured during task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), or in the absence of specific stimuli or tasks. In either case, the study of low frequency fluctuations in the BOLD signal reveals patterns of synchronization which delineate the intrinsic functional architecture of the brain. The scientific community now has available shared resources to accelerate the exploitation of resting state fMRI with the objectives of improving diagnostic methods and leading to better treatments grounded in neuroscience. Fomenting a collaborative scientific culture will accelerate our understanding of the underlying phenonmemna. Recently, the Spanish Resting State Network (SRSN) has joined this collaborative effort by creating a setting to facilitate collaboration among the various neuroscience research groups working in Spanish (http://www.nitrc.org/projects/srsn)