Understanding Stress During Puberty

Q1: The cerebral cortex is a highly organized, six layered structure (L1-6) with a variety of excitatory and inhibitory cell types. Excitatory (glutamatergic) neurons make up 80% of the cortex and consist of pyramidal and spiny stellate (granule) neurons. Inhibitory (GABAergic) neurons make up only 20% of the cortex and consist of four different subtypes: non-fast spiking serotonin expressing GABAergic neurons, martinotti cells, basket cells, and chandelier cells (Petersen & Crochet, 2013; Shipp, 2007). The total number of neuronal cells in the adult human cortex is 21.4 billion for females and 26.3 billion for males; however, there are also non-neuronal cells present in the cortex (Pelvig, Pakkenberg, Stark, & Pakkenberg, 2008). The major non-neuronal cells are glial cells and consist of: oligodendrocytes (75% of non-neuronal cells), astrocytes (20%) and microglia (5%) (Pelvig et al., 2008). The layering of the cortex is highly organized, with specific cell bodies located in each layer. Layer 1 receives input from other cortical layers as well as subcortical layers and is comprised solely of inhibitory neurons, although there are axons and dendrites that project onto these neurons in addition to non-neuronal cells (Petersen & Crochet, 2013). Layers 2/3 are difficult to differentiate from one another, and often referred to as the supragranular layers. These layers contain medium sized pyramidal cells that have densely packed and highly aligned apical dendrites and make

14. Amygdala: Our brains have two basic neural response systems, one governed by a brain structure.

Wolff M, Alcaraz F, Marchand AR, Coutureau E. Functional heterogeneity of the limbic thalamus: From hippocampal to cortical functions. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2015;54:120-130.

Furthermore, the axons of the olfactory tract project to either the amygdala, piriform cortex (region of limbic cortex) and the entorhinal cortex (region of the limbic cortex). From the amygdala, information then is sent to the hypothalamus. The entorhinal cortex sends its information to the hippocampus. The piriform cortex takes its information to the hypothalamus and orbitofrontal cortex

It has been recently reported that rTMS induces transcription of the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in the murine brain. GFAP transcription is up-regulated in astrocytes of the dentate gyrus, and the magnitude of the response depends on the number of stimulus trains (5). Whether rTMS induces GFAP transcription in astrocytes directly or indirectly through neural activation remains to be determined.

Studies show that a network in the brain called the cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuit contributes to the pathogenesis of the disease.

Disorders of cranial nerves may affect the connections between cranial nerve centers within the brain. A disorder may affect one or more nerves at a time, and the presence and

Our behaviour and emotion are determined by two hormones, testosterone and cortisol. Testosterone determines dominance and assertiveness, while cortisol controls the reactivity to stress. Research done by Cuddy and her team showed that higher levels of testosterone leads to higher self-confidence, whereas lower levels of cortisol leads to a fall in anxiety and an improved de-stress ability (Cuddy, Wilmuth & Carney, 2012). Therefore, research result has established the theory that human can handle stress better if we were to be able to control the hormone level.

A study was conducted by the University, testing a new drug that could temporarily stimulate different areas of the brain. This report will inform you on the general basics of the study, the results and what is important about the effects, and some experimental issues found in this study.

The physiological and behavioral effects of early life stress (ELS) on the developing and adult brain are a subject of great interest in the field of neuroscience today. The ability to delineate the mechanisms and structures that are affected during postnatal exposure to chronic stress has the potential to provide invaluable insight into the development of a multitude of neuropsychiatric disorders. While we have come to understand a few of the mechanisms involved in many of these illnesses – such as the significance of the serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) neurotransmitter in many depression cases – the complex nature of these disorders and our ability to effectively treat them remains elusive. Such an understanding of how the brain adapts and differentially develops as a result of chronic stress, particularly in early life, may also be able to broaden our understanding of the way in which the brain codes and responds to a variety of emotional triggers.

It is classified as a descending cortico-striato-pallido-pontine pathway including the cortex, striatum, pallidum, and the pons (Geyer and Braff 1987). Neurons from the amygdala, prefrontal cortex, ventral tegmental area, hippocampus, and nucleus accumbens regulate the activity of the pons. The pons controls the level of startle response (Swerdlow and Geyer 1998). By understanding these neural mechanisms, we can begin to understand the complex neural processes that are involved in sensory

External features of the brain such as the cerebral hemispheres, cerebellum, and brain stem were identified.

3D distribution of OT neurons in the hypothalamus: We used knock-in mice expressing Cre recombinase under OT promoter (OT-Cre, developed by Gloria Choi’s lab at MIT)[29] crossed with Cre dependent reporter mice (CAG-LoxP-Stop-LoxP-tdTomato, called “Ai14”)[31]. Four-week old mice were perfused and imaged by serial two-photon tomography (Figure 2). We performed the imaging registration of the 3D reconstructed brain to the common reference brain in order to display the precise 3D location of OT neurons (Figure 2A)[25]. and observed the strong expression in PVH, SO, accessory nuclei (AN) and tuberal nucleus (TU) of hypothalamus (Figure 2), consistent with previous finding [11]. Immunohistochemistry using a specific OT antibody further confirmed that the tdTomato signal from the Cre recombinase-positive neurons is overlapped well with OT immuno positive neurons (Figure 2C).

PNS and the FST alone had no effect on the firing rate of LC NE neurons, however, a significantly PNS x FST interaction effect was detected (two-way ANOVA, F1,516=17.4, p0.05, data not

In contrast to the control, the MCI group showed significant decreases of Cnodal in the hippocampus and the fusiform gyrus on the right side and in the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex on the left side (Fig.5). In this group, SAnodal increased in the postcentral gyrus and decreased in the superior frontal, middle frontal, and lingual and fusiform gyri on the right side and in the left middle occipital