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Full-Text Articles in Neuroscience and Neurobiology

How Theories Evolved Concerning The Mechanism Of Action Of Barbiturates, Wolfgang Löscher, Michael A. Rogawski Nov 2012

How Theories Evolved Concerning The Mechanism Of Action Of Barbiturates, Wolfgang Löscher, Michael A. Rogawski

Michael A. Rogawski

The barbiturate phenobarbital has been in use in the treatment of epilepsy for 100 years. It has long been recognized that barbiturates act by prolonging and potentiating the action of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) on GABA-A) receptors and at higher concentrations directly activating the receptors. A large body of data supports the concept that GABA-A) receptors are the primary central nervous system target for barbiturates, including the finding that transgenic mice with a point mutation in the β3 GABA-A)-receptor subunit exhibit diminished sensitivity to the sedative and immobilizing actions of the anesthetic barbiturate pentobarbital. Although phenobarbital is only modestly less potent …


Paradoxical Results Of Adaptive False Discovery Rate Procedures In Neuroimaging Studies, Philip T. Reiss, Armin Schwartzman, Feihan Lu, Lei Huang, Erika Proal Nov 2012

Paradoxical Results Of Adaptive False Discovery Rate Procedures In Neuroimaging Studies, Philip T. Reiss, Armin Schwartzman, Feihan Lu, Lei Huang, Erika Proal

Philip T. Reiss

Adaptive false discovery rate (FDR) procedures, which offer greater power than the original FDR procedure of Benjamini and Hochberg, are often applied to statistical maps of the brain. When a large proportion of the null hypotheses are false, as in the case of widespread effects such as cortical thinning throughout much of the brain, adaptive FDR methods can surprisingly reject more null hypotheses than not accounting for multiple testing at all—i.e., using uncorrected p-values. A straightforward mathematical argument is presented to explain why this can occur with the q-value method of Storey and colleagues, and a simulation study shows that …


Targeting Astrocytes Ameliorates Neurologic Changes In A Mouse Model Of Alzheimer's Disease, Jennifer L. Furman, Diana M. Sama, John C. Gant, Tina L. Beckett, M. Paul Murphy, Adam D. Bachstetter, Linda J. Van Eldik, Christopher M. Norris Nov 2012

Targeting Astrocytes Ameliorates Neurologic Changes In A Mouse Model Of Alzheimer's Disease, Jennifer L. Furman, Diana M. Sama, John C. Gant, Tina L. Beckett, M. Paul Murphy, Adam D. Bachstetter, Linda J. Van Eldik, Christopher M. Norris

Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications

Astrocytes are the most abundant cell type in the brain and play a critical role in maintaining healthy nervous tissue. In Alzheimer's disease (AD) and most other neurodegenerative disorders, many astrocytes convert to a chronically "activated" phenotype characterized by morphologic and biochemical changes that appear to compromise protective properties and/or promote harmful neuroinflammatory processes. Activated astrocytes emerge early in the course of AD and become increasingly prominent as clinical and pathological symptoms progress, but few studies have tested the potential of astrocyte-targeted therapeutics in an intact animal model of AD. Here, we used adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors containing the astrocyte-specific …


Adjunctive Perampanel For Refractory Partial-Onset Seizures. Randomized Phase Iii Study 304, Jacqueline A. French, Gregory L. Krauss, Victor Biton, David Squillacote, Haichen Yang, Antonio Laurenza, Dinesh Kumar, Michael A. Rogawski Aug 2012

Adjunctive Perampanel For Refractory Partial-Onset Seizures. Randomized Phase Iii Study 304, Jacqueline A. French, Gregory L. Krauss, Victor Biton, David Squillacote, Haichen Yang, Antonio Laurenza, Dinesh Kumar, Michael A. Rogawski

Michael A. Rogawski

Objective: To assess efficacy and safety of once-daily 8 or 12 mg perampanel, a noncompetitive α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-propionic acid (AMPA) receptor antagonist, when added to concomitant antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in the treatment of drug-resistant partial-onset seizures. Methods:This was a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00699972). Patients (≥12 years, with ongoing seizures despite 1–3 AEDs) were randomized (1:1:1) to once-daily perampanel 8 mg, 12 mg, or placebo. Following baseline (6 weeks), patients entered a 19-week double-blind phase: 6-week titration (2 mg/week increments to target dose) followed by a 13-week maintenance period. Percent change in seizure frequency was the primary endpoint; 50% responder …


Function-On-Scalar Regression With The Refund Package, Philip T. Reiss Jul 2012

Function-On-Scalar Regression With The Refund Package, Philip T. Reiss

Philip T. Reiss

No abstract provided.


Characterization Of Seizures Induced By Acute And Repeated Exposure To Tetramethylenedisulfotetramine, Dorota Zolkowska, Christopher N. Banks, Ashish Dhir, Bora Inceoglu, James R. Sanborn, Mark R. Mccoy, Donald A. Bruun, Bruce D. Hammock, Pamela J. Lein, Michael A. Rogawski Apr 2012

Characterization Of Seizures Induced By Acute And Repeated Exposure To Tetramethylenedisulfotetramine, Dorota Zolkowska, Christopher N. Banks, Ashish Dhir, Bora Inceoglu, James R. Sanborn, Mark R. Mccoy, Donald A. Bruun, Bruce D. Hammock, Pamela J. Lein, Michael A. Rogawski

Michael A. Rogawski

Tetramethylenedisulfotetramine (tetramine; TETS) is a potent convulsant poison that is considered to be a chemical threat agent. To provide a basis for the investigation of antidotes for TETS-induced seizures, we characterized the convulsant activity of TETS in mice and rats when administered by the intraperitoneal, intravenous, oral and intraventricular routes as a single acute dose and with repeated sublethal doses. In mice, parenteral and oral TETS caused immobility, myoclonic body jerks, clonic seizures of the forelimbs and/or hindlimbs, tonic seizures and death. The CD50 values for clonic and tonic seizures following oral administration were 0.11 and 0.22 mg/kg, respectively. Intraventricular …


Smoothness Selection For Penalized Quantile Regression Splines, Philip T. Reiss, Lei Huang Apr 2012

Smoothness Selection For Penalized Quantile Regression Splines, Philip T. Reiss, Lei Huang

Philip T. Reiss

Modern data-rich analyses may call for fitting a large number of nonparametric quantile regressions. For example, growth charts may be constructed for each of a collection of variables, to identify those for which individuals with a disorder tend to fall in the tails of their age-specific distribution; such variables might serve as developmental biomarkers. When such analyses are carried out by penalized spline smoothing, reliable automatic selection of the smoothing parameter is particularly important. We show that two popular methods for smoothness selection may tend to overfit when estimating extreme quantiles as a smooth function of a predictor such as …


Semiparametric Methods For Mapping Brain Development, Philip T. Reiss, Yin-Hsiu Chen, Lan Huo Apr 2012

Semiparametric Methods For Mapping Brain Development, Philip T. Reiss, Yin-Hsiu Chen, Lan Huo

Philip T. Reiss

No abstract provided.


Parkinson’S Disease: Molecular Mechanisms And Treatments, Delia Vahey Apr 2012

Parkinson’S Disease: Molecular Mechanisms And Treatments, Delia Vahey

Senior Honors Theses

Parkinson’s disease is a motor system disorder that is caused primarily by the loss of dopamine-producing brain cells. The most affected brain structure is the pars compacta of the substantia nigra. This area of the brain is essential to the control of voluntary movement, and so its impairment leads to symptoms such as tremors, rigidity, and impaired balance. The neuronal protein alpha-synuclein has been shown to be heavily involved in the pathogenesis of the disease at the cellular level. The currently available treatments for PD mainly target dopamine regulation, and there been no cure developed for the disease at present. …


Role Of Neurosteroids In The Anticonvulsant Activity Of Midazolam, Ashish Dhir, Michael A. Rogawski Mar 2012

Role Of Neurosteroids In The Anticonvulsant Activity Of Midazolam, Ashish Dhir, Michael A. Rogawski

Michael A. Rogawski

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Midazolam is a short-acting benzodiazepine that is widely used as an intravenous sedative and anticonvulsant. Besides interacting with the benzodiazepine site associated with GABA-A receptors, some benzodiazepines act as agonists of translocator protein (18 kDa) (TSPO) to enhance the synthesis of steroids, including neurosteroids with positive modulatory actions on GABA-A receptors. We sought to determine if neurosteroidogenesis induced by midazolam contributes to its anticonvulsant action. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH Mice were pretreated with neurosteroid synthesis inhibitors and potentiators followed by midazolam or clonazepam, a weak TSPO ligand. Anticonvulsant activity was assessed with the intravenous pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) threshold test. KEY …


Propofol Hemisuccinate Suppresses Cortical Spreading Depression, Ashish Dhir, Christoph Lossin, Michael A. Rogawski Feb 2012

Propofol Hemisuccinate Suppresses Cortical Spreading Depression, Ashish Dhir, Christoph Lossin, Michael A. Rogawski

Michael A. Rogawski

Propofol is a rapidly acting water-insoluble non-barbiturate anesthetic agent that is widely used as an intravenous sedative-hypnotic agent. Anecdotal evidence indicates that propofol may be effective at terminating intractable migraine headache. Cortical spreading depression (CSD) is believed to be the neural correlate of migraine aura and may be a trigger for migraine pain. Agents that block the induction or slow the spread of CSD may be of utility in treating migraine. Here we examined the ability of propofol hemisuccinate (PHS), a water-soluble prodrug of propofol, to affect CSD in mice. For comparison, we examinined dizocilpine, an NMDA receptor antagonist, that …


Migraine And Epilepsy—Shared Mechanisms Within The Family Of Episodic Disorders, Michael A. Rogawski Dec 2011

Migraine And Epilepsy—Shared Mechanisms Within The Family Of Episodic Disorders, Michael A. Rogawski

Michael A. Rogawski

Migraine and epilepsy are episodic disorders that share many clinical features and underlying pathophysiological mechanisms. Cortical spreading depression (CSD), a wave of profound cellular depolarization, is believed to underlie migraine aura and to be a trigger for the headache pain in migraine. However, the initial event preceding CSD is cellular hyperexcitability associated with localized epileptiform discharges. Glutamate is a critical mediator of the hyperexcitability in both focal seizures and migraine. In focal epilepsy, seizure generation and spread is mediated by synaptically released glutamate acting on AMPA receptors, whereas triggering of CSD depends on NMDA receptors and spread does not require …


Neurosteroids—Endogenous Regulators Of Seizure Susceptibility And Role In The Treatment Of Epilepsy, Doodipala S. Reddy, Michael A. Rogawski Dec 2011

Neurosteroids—Endogenous Regulators Of Seizure Susceptibility And Role In The Treatment Of Epilepsy, Doodipala S. Reddy, Michael A. Rogawski

Michael A. Rogawski

Certain steroid hormone metabolites that have activity as modulators of GABA-A receptors but lack conventional hormonal effects—including allopregnanolone and allotetrahydrodeoxycorticosterone—are synthesized within the brain, predominantly in principle (excitatory) neurons, and also in peripheral tissues. At low concentrations, such neurosteroids potentiate GABA-A receptor currents, whereas at higher concentrations they directly activate the receptor; large magnitude effects occur on nonsynaptic delta subunit-containing GABA-A receptors that mediate tonic currents. GABA-A receptor modulatory neurosteroids confer seizure protection in diverse animal models, without tolerance during chronic administration. Endogenous neurosteroids may play a role in catamenial epilepsy, stress-induced changes in seizure susceptibility, temporal lobe epilepsy, and …


Mechanisms Of Action Of Antiseizure Drugs (Chapter 39), Roger J. Porter, Ashish Dhir, Robert L. Macdonald, Michael A. Rogawski Dec 2011

Mechanisms Of Action Of Antiseizure Drugs (Chapter 39), Roger J. Porter, Ashish Dhir, Robert L. Macdonald, Michael A. Rogawski

Michael A. Rogawski

No abstract provided.