Long-term Treatment with Oriental Medicinal Herb Artemisia princeps Alters Neuroplasticity in a Rat Model of Ovarian Hormone Deficiency

Umbelliferone Ameliorates Memory Impairment and Enhances Hippocampal Synaptic Plasticity in Scopolamine-Induced Rat Model

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder, characterized by memory loss and cognitive decline. Among the suggested pathogenic mechanisms of AD, the cholinergic hypothesis proposes that AD symptoms are a result of reduced synthesis of acetylcholine (ACh). A non-selective antagonist of the muscarinic ACh receptor, scopolamine (SCOP) induced cognitive impairment in rodents. Umbelliferone (UMB) is a Apiaceae-family-derived 7-hydeoxycoumarin known for its antioxidant, anti-tumor, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antimicrobial, and antidiabetic properties. However, the effects of UMB on the electrophysiological and ultrastructure morphological aspects of learning and memory are still not well-established. Thus, we investigated the effect of UMB treatment on cognitive behaviors and used organotypic hippocampal slice cultures for long-term potentiation (LTP) and the hippocampal synaptic ultrastructure. A hippocampal tissue analysis revealed that UMB attenuated a SCOP-induced blockade of field excitatory post-synaptic potential (fEPSP) activity and ameliorated the impairment of LTP by the NMDA and AMPA receptor antagonists. UMB also enhanced the hippocampal synaptic vesicle density on the synaptic ultrastructure. Furthermore, behavioral tests on male SD rats (7-8 weeks old) using the Y-maze test, passive avoidance test (PA), and Morris water maze test (MWM) showed that UMB recovered learning and memory deficits by SCOP. These cognitive improvements were in association with the enhanced expression of BDNF, TrkB, and the pCREB/CREB ratio and the suppression of acetylcholinesterase activity. The current findings indicate that UMB may be an effective neuroprotective reagent applicable for improving learning and memory against AD.

Naringin enhances long-term potentiation and recovers learning and memory deficits of amyloid-beta induced Alzheimer's disease-like behavioral rat model

Alzheimer's disease (AD), as the most typical type of dementia, is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive learning and memory impairment. It is known that the main causes of AD are the accumulation of β-amyloid (Aβ) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) containing hyperphosphorylated tau protein. Naringin is a flavonoid from citrus fruits, especially in grapefruit, which has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-apoptotic, and neuroprotective activities. However, the effect of naringin in AD caused by Aβ has not been clearly studied, and there are few studies on the electrophysiological aspect. Thus, we investigated the ex vivo neuroprotective effect of naringin through the long-term potentiation (LTP) on organotypic hippocampal slice cultures. We evaluated the in vivo effects of naringin (100 mg/kg/day) orally treated for 20 days on learning, memory, and cognition which was impaired by bilateral CA1 subregion injection of Aβ. Cognitive behaviors were measured 2 weeks after Aβ injection using behavioral tests and the hippocampal expression of apoptotic and neurotrophic regulators were measured by immunoblotting. In hippocampal tissue slices, naringin dose-dependently increased the field excitatory postsynaptic potential (fEPSP) after theta burst stimulation and attenuated Aβ-induced blockade of fEPSP in the hippocampal CA1 area. In Aβ injected rats, naringin improved object recognition memory in the novel object test, avoidance memory in the passive avoidance test and spatial recognition memory in the Morris water maze test. In the hippocampus, naringin attenuated the Aβ-induced cyclooxygenase-2, Bax activation and Bcl-2, CREB, BDNF and TrkB inhibition. These results suggest that naringin has therapeutic potential to reduce neuronal inflammation and apoptosis induced by Aβ related with the BDNF/TrkB/CREB signaling.

Antidepressant-like Effects of p-Coumaric Acid on LPS-induced Depressive and Inflammatory Changes in Rats

Depression causes mental and physical changes which affect quality of life. It is estimated to become the second most prevalent disease, but despite its commonness, the pathophysiology of depression remains unclear and medicine is not sufficiently protective. p-Coumaric acid (p-CA) is a dietary phenolic acid which has been proven to have antifungal, anti-HIV, anti-melanogenic, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Considering these effects, we investigated whether p-CA can prevent depressive symptoms by reducing inflammatory cytokines in animals injected with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Changes in despair-related behaviors, inflammatory cytokines, neurotrophic factors and synaptic activity were measured. In these animals, p-CA improved despair-related behavioral symptoms induced by LPS in the forced swim test (FST), tail suspension test (TST) and sucrose splash test (SST). p-CA also prevented the increase of inflammatory cytokines in the hippocampus such as cycloxigenase-2 and tumor necrosis factor-α due to LPS. Similarly, it prevented the reduction of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) by LPS. Electrophysiologically, p-CA blocked the reduction of long-term depression in LPS-treated organotypic tissue slices. In conclusion, p-CA prevented LPS-induced depressive symptoms in animals, as determined by behavioral, biochemical and electrophysiological measures. These findings suggest the potential use of p-CA as a preventive and therapeutic medicine for depression.

Curcumin Alters Neural Plasticity and Viability of Intact Hippocampal Circuits and Attenuates Behavioral Despair and COX-2 Expression in Chronically Stressed Rats

Curcumin is a major diarylheptanoid component of Curcuma longa with traditional usage for anxiety and depression. It has been known for the anti-inflammatory, antistress, and neurotropic effects. Here we examined curcumin effect in neural plasticity and cell viability. 60-channel multielectrode array was applied on organotypic hippocampal slice cultures (OHSCs) to monitor the effect of 10 μM curcumin in long-term depression (LTD) through low-frequency stimulation (LFS) to the Schaffer collaterals and commissural pathways. Cell viability was assayed by propidium iodide uptake test in OHSCs. In addition, the influence of oral curcumin administration on rat behavior was assessed with the forced swim test (FST). Finally, protein expression levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) were measured by Western blot in chronically stressed rats. Our results demonstrated that 10 μM curcumin attenuated LTD and reduced cell death. It also recovered the behavior immobility of FST, rescued the attenuated BDNF expression, and inhibited the enhancement of COX-2 expression in stressed animals. These findings indicate that curcumin can enhance postsynaptic electrical reactivity and cell viability in intact neural circuits with antidepressant-like effects, possibly through the upregulation of BDNF and reduction of inflammatory factors in the brain.

Acute rosmarinic acid treatment enhances long-term potentiation, BDNF and GluR-2 protein expression, and cell survival rate against scopolamine challenge in rat organotypic hippocampal slice cultures

BACKGROUND

Rosmarinic acid (RA) is a polyphenolic ester of caffeic acid and is commonly found in the Nepetoideae subfamily of flowering mint plants. Because RA has previously exhibited antioxidant, neuroprotective, and antidepressant-like effects, we evaluated its influences on cellular functions in neuronal cultures.

OBJECTIVE

To elucidate possible mechanisms of RA, we investigated the influences of acute RA administration on long-term potentiation (LTP), plasticity-related protein expression, and scopolamine-induced cell death in organotypic hippocampal slice cultures.

METHODS

LTP analysis in organotypic hippocampal slice cultures (OHSCs) was carried out with various ion channel blockers, such as AP5 (10 μM), CNQX (10 μM), niflumic acid (100 μM), and scopolamine (300 μM) in response to RA (1, 10 or 100 μg/mL) treatment. Protein expression and cell death assays in the presence of scopolamine were examined to observe the effects of RA. For LTP analysis, baseline field excitatory postsynaptic potentials (fEPSPs) were recorded in CA1 by a 60-channel multielectrode array (MEA) every min for 40 min before 15 min of high-frequency stimulation (HFS) to the Schaffer collaterals and commissural pathways, followed by a successive 50 min of recording. For protein expression measurements, anti-BDNF and anti-GluR2 antibodies were used for Western blotting assays in whole-hippocampal tissue homogenate. Finally, for cell death assays, OHSCs were exposed to a culture medium containing propidium iodide (PI) for 24 or 48 h, followed by the assessment of cell death by fluorescent image analysis of PI uptake.

RESULTS

and discussion: Our results indicate that RA treatment enhances fEPSPs following HFS in CA1 synapses at 1 and 10 μg/ml RA, an effect that was inhibited by CNQX and NFA but not by AP5. RA treatment also increases the expression of BDNF and GluR-2 proteins and prevents cell death of scopolamine-exposed OHSCs. Our results suggest the possibility that rosmarinic acid can enhance neural plasticity by modulating glutamatergic signaling pathways, as well as providing neuroprotection with reduced cholinergic activity.

ESP-102, a Combined Herbal Extract of Angelica gigas, Saururus chinensis, and Schisandra chinensis, Changes Synaptic Plasticity and Attenuates Scopolamine-Induced Memory Impairment in Rat Hippocampus Tissue

ESP-102, an extract from Angelica gigas, Saururus chinensis, and Schisandra chinensis, has been used as herbal medicine and dietary supplement in Korea. Despite the numerous bioactivities in vitro and in vivo studies, its effects on neuronal networks remain elusive. To address the neuronal effect, we examined synaptic plasticity in organotypic hippocampal slice culture with multielectrode array. Our results showed an increase in excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP), indicating the induction of long-term potentiation (LTP), in the presence of ESP-102. In addition, the neuroprotective effect of ESP-102 was also tested by application of scopolamine to the hippocampal slice. Interestingly, ESP-102 competitively antagonized the preventative LTP effect induced by scopolamine. The scopolamine-induced reduction in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and GluR-2 expression was also rescued by ESP-102. In terms of mode of action, ESP-102 appears to act on the presynaptic region independent of AMPA/NMDA receptors. Based on these findings, ESP-102 can be suggested as a novel herbal ingredient with memory enhancing as well as neuroprotective effects.

Microelectrode array analysis of hippocampal network dynamics following theta-burst stimulation via current source density reconstruction by Gaussian interpolation

BACKGROUND

Multielectrode arrays (MEAs) have been used to understand electrophysiological network dynamics by recording real-time activity in groups of cells. The extent to which the collection of such data enables hypothesis testing on the level of circuits and networks depends largely on the sophistication of the analyses applied.

NEW METHOD

We studied the systemic temporal variations of endogenous signaling within an organotypic hippocampal network following theta-burst stimulation (TBS) to the Schaffer collateral-commissural pathways. The recovered current source density (CSD) information from the raw grid of extracellular potentials by using a Gaussian interpolation method increases spatial resolution and avoids border artifacts by numerical differentials.

RESULTS

We compared total sink and source currents in DG, CA3, and CA1; calculated accumulated correlation coefficients to compare pre- with post-stimulation CSD dynamics in each region; and reconstructed functional connectivity maps for regional cross-correlations with respect to temporal CSD variations. The functional connectivity maps for potential correlations pre- and post-TBS were compared to investigate the neural network as a whole, revealing differences post-TBS.

COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHOD(S)

Previous MEA work on plasticity in hippocampal evoked potentials has focused on synchronicity across the hippocampus within isolated subregions. Such analyses ignore the complex relationships among diverse components of the hippocampal circuitry, thus failing to capture network-level behaviors integral to understanding hippocampal function.

CONCLUSIONS

The proposed method of recovering current source density to examine whole-hippocampal function is sensitive to experimental manipulation and is worth further examination in the context of network-level analyses of neural signaling.

Electrical conductivity and permittivity maps of brain tissues derived from water content based on T1 -weighted acquisition

PURPOSE

To develop an electrical properties tomography (EPT) technique that can provide in vivo electrical conductivity and permittivity images of biological tissue without performing complex-valued radiofrequency field measurements.

THEORY AND METHODS

Electrical conductivity and permittivity images are modeled as a monotonic function of tissues' water content (W) under the principle of Maxwell's mixture theory. Water content maps are estimated from two spin-echo images having different repetition times (TRs). For the modeling functions, physically measured parameters (electrical properties, water content, and T₁ ) of brain cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), gray matter, and white matter are used as landmark literature references. The formulations are validated by a developed electrolyte-protein phantom and by human brain studies at 3 Tesla (T).

RESULTS

The electrical properties (EPs) of the phantom estimated by the proposed method match well with the values measured on the bench. The conductivity and permittivity maps from all experiments show uncompromised spatial resolution without boundary artifacts and higher contrast when compared with water content maps.

CONCLUSIONS

Human brain and phantom EP images suggest that water content is a dominating factor in determining the electrical properties of tissues. Despite possible literature inaccuracies, the proposed method offers EP maps that can provide complementary information to current approaches, to facilitate EPT scans in clinical applications. Magn Reson Med 77:1094-1103, 2017. © 2016 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.