Gli autori desiderano ringraziare Ikiel Ptito per il suo continuo supporto tecnico.

Parte 1: Pre-trattamento dei tessuti <ol><li> Tessuto deve essere ben perfusi con paraformaldeide, glutaraldeide, o formalina. Questo può essere raggiunto attraverso standard di perfusione transcardial tipicamente usato per raccogliere altri organi. Nel presente studio il soggetto era profondamente sedato con cloridrato di ketamina (10 mg / kg, im), eutanasia con una dose eccessiva di sodio pentobarbital (25 mg / kg, iv) e perfusi transcardially con 0,1 M PBS fino a completo dissanguato. Questa è seguita da una soluzione di paraformaldeide al 4% in PBS per 5 min (~ 1 litro). </li><li> Il cervello deve essere stereotaxically bloccato, rimosso dal cranio, pesato, e il volume determinato 2. Il tessuto deve quindi essere crioprotetti in soluzioni di saccarosio classificato con una concentrazione finale di 30% di saccarosio in tampone fosfato. Blocchi di tessuto deve essere congelato in isopentano a -65 ° C e conservati a -80 ° C fino a quando si è pronti a fetta. </li></ol> Parte 2: campionamento sistematico <ol><li> Campionamento sistematico si basa su un piano adeguato prima di sezionamento. L&#39;intera regione di interesse in entrambe le estensioni rostrale-caudale e dorso-ventrale deve essere ben definito. Un atlante stereotassico delle specie in uso è utile per definire la regione di interesse e per determinare la lunghezza della regione di interesse. Una volta che la lunghezza della regione di interesse è determinato, è necessario stabilire l&#39;intervallo di campionamento. Per esempio, dal atlante stereotassico si stabilisce che l&#39;intero rostro-caudale estensione della regione di interesse è di circa tre millimetri di lunghezza Durante il taglio nel piano coronale. Quindi decide di impostare il criostato alla sezione a 50 micron, di questo passo si avrà 60 sezioni che coprono il rostrale-caudale estensione della regione di interesse. Per un tipico studio imparziale stereological 6-10 sezioni sistematicamente campioni sono necessari per ottenere risultati attendibili. In questo esempio 10 sezioni equidistanti in tutto il rostro-caudale risultato misura in un intervallo di campionamento di 1 / 6 sezioni. </li></ol> Parte 3: Creazione della banca del cervello <ol><li> Una volta che la frequenza di campionamento sezione è stato determinato, il passo successivo è quello di determinare che le macchie verrà eseguita immediatamente. Per esempio, se siete colorazione con violetto cresolo potrete catturare 1 / 6 sezioni su una diapositiva. Questo sarà serie 1. Se sai che forse diversi anticorpi potenziale che si desidera eseguire, ma entrambi vogliono vedere i dati che fornisce il vostro principale macchia o semplicemente non hanno il tempo per eseguire l&#39;immunoistochimica, posto il restante 5 serie di sezioni nell&#39;ordine in cui sono sono stati tagliati a preservare pozzetti contenenti antigeni (1 pirrolidone polivinile%, glicole etilenico al 50% in o.1M PBS, pH 7,4). La seguente tabella fornisce uno schema di campionamento composto da 1 scivolo e 1 piastra (standard piastra da 48 pozzetti) di sezioni come parte di una banca del cervello (Tabella 1). <img src="/files/ftp_upload/1260/table1.jpg" alt="Tabella 1" /> Tabella 1. La frequenza di campionamento sezione qui è 1 / 6. La prima sezione è posto su un vetrino per la colorazione violetto cresolo e il prossimo 5 sezioni sono poste in antigene preservare. Numero della sezione 7 è poi catturato sulla diapositiva e le sezioni 9-12 sono collocati in antigene preservare. Questo ciclo viene ripetuto fino a quando la regione di interesse o il blocco dei tessuti è esaustivo sezionato. </li><li> Il passo successivo è quello di sezione esaurientemente il blocco di tessuto. Mettere una piccola quantità di incorporare medio sul mandrino e farlo congelare. Posizionare il mandrino nella testa microtomo e radere abbastanza del mezzo congelato di avere una superficie piana. Rimuovere il mandrino dalla testa microtomo e luogo pianeggiante all&#39;interno del criostato. Versare incorporare medio sul mandrino e saldamente posto il blocco cervello con il lato stereotaxically taglio posizionato categoricamente sul mandrino. Incorporare lentamente e completamente il cervello in montaggio di media. Posizionare il mandrino con il cervello nella testa microtomo e la sezione con il pre-determinati parametri per la frequenza di campionamento sezione. </li><li> Una volta che il blocco di tessuto è stata esaurientemente sezionato e le sezioni sono collocati in pozzi, coprire la piastra con il coperchio, avvolgere il coperchio con parafilm, e mettere in un congelatore di -20 ° C. Registro il numero totale delle sezioni adottate per ciascuna serie, la sezione-intervallo di campionamento, e il numero di serie per ogni animale. Questo registro sarà vitale per tenere traccia di successiva rimozione di sezioni dalla banca cervello per immunoistochimica futuro. </li></ol> Parte 4: Risultati Rappresentante: Campionamento sistematico in questo modo è stata una pratica standard nel nostro laboratorio negli ultimi 3 anni. Abbiamo avuto un grande successo di immunoistochimica eseguire sul materiale che è stata conservata in antigene preservare tre anni dopo è stato tagliato senza deterioramento del segnale (Figura 1). Inoltre, come parte della nostra banca cervello che abbiamo registrato vicino a 20.000 sezioni sistematica della non-umanocervello dei primati (Figura 2) come parte della nostra piani a lungo termine della ricerca. <img src="/files/ftp_upload/1260/1260figure1.jpg" alt="" /> Figura 1. Questa è una sezione dal polo occipitale del primate non umano immunostained per NeuN mostrando sia VI livello e interstiziale neuroni della sostanza bianca. Questa particolare sezione è stato immagazzinato in antigene conservare a -20 ° C per un periodo di 2 anni. Barra di scala = 100μm. <img src="/files/ftp_upload/1260/1260fig2.jpg" alt="Figura 2" /> Figura 2. La nostra banca cervello cercopiteco ora è composta di quasi 20.000 sezioni sistematico da oltre 30 scimmie.

<ol>
	<li>West, M., Slomianka, L., Gundersen, H. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Unbiased+stereological+estimation+of+the+total+number+of+neurons+in+the+subdivisions+of+the+rat+hippocampus+using+the+optical+fractionator.+Aat+Rec.">Unbiased stereological estimation of the total number of neurons in the subdivisions of the rat hippocampus using the optical fractionator. Aat Rec.</a> 231, 482-497 (1991).</li><li>Burke, M. W., Zangenehpour, S., Boire, D., Ptito, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Dissecting+the+Non-human+Primate+Brain+in+Stereotaxic+Space.">Dissecting the Non-human Primate Brain in Stereotaxic Space.</a> J Vis Exp. , (2009).</li></ol>

The authors have nothing to disclose.

Campionamento sistematico è un metodo poco costoso scopo di massimizzare il materiale di ricerca. Questa strategia di campionamento è stato progettato per rispettare le regole di stereologia imparziale che richiede il campionamento sistematico in tutta la regione. E &#39;fondamentale che l&#39;ordine delle sezioni per ogni serie è mantenuta. Nel nostro laboratorio abbiamo utilizzato con successo questo metodo per il settore bancario sia criceto e non umani sezioni cervello dei primati. Finora abbiamo raccolto sezioni cervello vicino a 20.000 scimmia cercopiteco (Chlorocebus aethiops sabeus) ed eseguire di routine immunohistochemisty sulle sezioni che sono stati conservati per oltre un anno. I vantaggi di un ben caratterizzato banca cervello includono la possibilità di raccogliere dati tra decisioni di finanziamento, la capacità per i nuovi studenti di raccogliere velocemente i dati e minimizzare l&#39;uso e il trattamento di nuovi animali in modo da massimizzare fondi per la ricerca.

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brain banking: making the most of your research specimens

Tutti stereologia è un metodo per precisione ed efficienza stimare il numero totale dei neuroni (o tipo di cellula) in una data area di interesse<sup&gt; 1</sup&gt;. Per raggiungere questo obiettivo 60-10 sezioni sistematica dovrebbe essere sondato che copre l&#39;intera struttura. Tipicamente si tratta di elaborazione 1 / 5 sezioni che lascia una notevole quantità di materiale non trasformato. Al fine di massimizzare il materiale, vi proponiamo un metodo poco costoso per conservare tessuto fissato come parte di un piano a lungo termine di stoccaggio di ricerca. Come tessuto è tagliato e lavorato per il desiderato macchia o anticorpi, si alternano sezioni dovrebbero essere sistematicamente messo in antigene conservare a -20 ° C per elaborazioni future. Utilizzando piastre da 24 pozzetti, le sezioni possono essere messi in ordine per il recupero futuro. Utilizzando questo metodo, i tessuti possono essere conservati e trattati per immunoistochimica nel corso degli anni.

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Brain Banking: Making the Most of your Research Specimens at JoVE.com

Brain Banking: Making the Most of your Research Specimens

Banche del cervello e campionatura sistematica di materiale biologico costituisce la base per stereologia imparziale e massimizza il potenziale dei dati ottenuti da ogni campione.

Cervello Banking: Utilizzare al meglio il vostro campioni di ricerca

Unbiased stereology is a method for accurately and efficiently estimating the total neuron number (or other cell type) in a given area of interest1.  To ...

brain-banking-making-the-most-of-your-research-specimens

Nanyang Technological University

Research

JoVE Journal

Biology

9.9K Views.  University of Montreal. Banche del cervello e campionatura sistematica di materiale biologico costituisce la base per stereologia imparziale e massimizza il potenziale dei dati ottenuti da ogni campione.

Video: Brain Banking: Making the Most of your Research Specimens

Fabrication of a Microfluidic Device for the Compartmentalization of Neuron Soma and Axons

In this video, we demonstrate the technique of soft lithography with polydimethyl siloxane (PDMS) which we use to fabricate a microfluidic device for culturing neurons. Previously, a silicon wafer was patterned with the design for the neuron microfluidic device using SU-8 and photolithography to create a master mold, or what we simply refer to as a "master". Next, we pour the silicon polymer PDMS on top of the master which is then cured by heating the PDMS to 80&deg;C for 1 hour. The PDMS forms a negative mold of the device. The PDMS is then carefully cut and lifted away from the master. Holes are punched where the reservoirs will be and the excess PDMS trimmed away from the device. Nitrogen is used to blow away any excess debris from the device. At this point the devices are now ready for use and can either bonded to corning No. 1 cover glass with a plasma sterilizer/cleaner or can be reversibly bound to the cover glass by simply placing the device on top of the cover glass. The reversible bonding of the device to glass is covered in a separate video and requires first that the device be sterilized either with 70% ethanol or by autoclaving. Plasma treating sterilizes the devices so no further treatment is necessary. It is, however, important, when plasma-treating the devices, to add liquid to the devices within 10 minutes of the plasma treatment while the surfaces are still hydrophilic. Waiting longer than 10 minutes to add liquid to the device makes it difficult for the liquid to enter the device. The neuron devices are typically plasma-bound to cover glass and 0.5 mg/ml poly-L-lysine (PLL) in pH 8.5 borate buffer is immediately added to the device. After a minimum of 3 hours incubating with PLL, the devices are washed with dH2O water a minimum of 3 times with at least 15 minutes between each wash. Next, the water is removed and fresh media is added to the device. At this point the device is ready for use. It is important to remember at this point to never remove all the media from the device. Always leave media in the main channel.

In this video we demonstrate the technique of soft lithography with polydimethyl siloxane (PDMS) which we use to farbricate a microfluidic device for culturing neurons.

Fabbricazione di un dispositivo a microfluidi per la compartimentazione dei Neuron Soma e assoni

In this video, we demonstrate the technique of soft lithography with polydimethyl siloxane (PDMS) which we use to fabricate a microfluidic device for ...

Ricerca

Biologia

Micro-dissection of Rat Brain for RNA or Protein Extraction from Specific Brain Region

Micro-dissection of rat brain into various regions is extremely important for the study of different neurodegenerative diseases. This video demonstrates micro-dissection of four major brain regions include olfactory bulb, frontal cortex, striatum and hippocampus in fresh rat brain tissue. Useful tips for quick removal of respective regions to avoid RNA and protein degradation of the tissue are given.

Micro-dissection of rat brain into various regions is extremely important for the study of different neurodegenerative diseases. This video demonstrates micro-dissection of four major brain regions include olfactory bulb, frontal cortex, striatum and hippocampus in fresh rat brain tissue. Useful tips for quick removal of respective regions to avoid RNA and protein degradation of the tissue are given.

Micro-dissezione del cervello di ratto per estrazione RNA o proteine ​​da Regione specifiche del cervello

Micro-dissection of rat brain into various regions is extremely important for the study of different neurodegenerative diseases. This video demonstrates ...

Single Cell Electroporation in vivo within the Intact Developing Brain

Single-cell electroporation (SCE) is a specialized technique allowing the delivery of DNA or other macromolecules into individual cells within intact tissue, including in vivo preparations. The distinct advantage of this technique is that experimental manipulations may be performed on individual cells while leaving the surrounding tissue unaltered, thereby distinguishing cell-autonomous effects from those resulting from global treatments. When combined with advanced in vivo imaging techniques, SCE of fluorescent markers permits direct visualization of cellular morphology, cell growth, and intracellular events over timescales ranging from seconds to days. While this technique is used in a variety of in vivo and ex vivo preparations, we have optimized this technique for use in Xenopus laevis tadpoles. In this video article, we detail the procedure for SCE of a fluorescent dye or plasmid DNA into neurons within the intact brain of the albino Xenopus tadpole. We also discuss methods to optimize yield, and show examples of live two-photon fluorescence imaging of neurons fluorescently labeled by SCE.

Single-cell electroporation (SCE) is a specialized technique allowing delivery of DNA or other macromolecules into individual cells within intact tissue, including in vivo preparations. Here we detail the procedure for SCE of a fluorescent dye or plasmid DNA into neurons within the intact brain of the Xenopus laevis tadpole.

Cella singola elettroporazione in vivo all&#39;interno del cervello intatto in via di sviluppo

Single-cell electroporation (SCE) is a specialized technique allowing the delivery of DNA or other macromolecules into individual cells within intact ...

Live Imaging of the Zebrafish Embryonic Brain by Confocal Microscopy

In this video, we demonstrate the method our lab has developed to analyze the cell shape changes and rearrangements required to bend and fold the developing zebrafish brain (Gutzman et al, 2008). Such analysis affords a new understanding of the underlying cell biology required for development of the 3D structure of the vertebrate brain, and significantly increases our ability to study neural tube morphogenesis. The embryonic zebrafish brain is shaped beginning at 18 hours post fertilization (hpf) as the ventricles within the neuroepithelium inflate. By 24 hpf, the initial steps of neural tube morphogenesis are complete. Using the method described here, embryos at the one cell stage are injected with mRNA encoding membrane-targeted green fluorescent protein (memGFP). After injection and incubation, the embryo, now between 18 and 24 hpf, is mounted, inverted, in agarose and imaged by confocal microscopy. Notably, the zebrafish embryo is transparent making it an ideal system for fluorescent imaging. While our analyses have focused on the midbrain-hindbrain boundary and the hindbrain, this method could be extended for analysis of any region in the zebrafish to a depth of 
80-100 &mu;m.

In this video, we demonstrate a method by which to analyze the developing vertebrate brain in live zebrafish embryos at single cell resolution by confocal microscopy. This includes the method by which we inject the single-cell zebrafish embryo and subsequently mount and image the developing brain.

Vivere Imaging of the Brain Zebrafish embrionali da microscopia confocale

In this video, we demonstrate the method our lab has developed to analyze the cell shape changes and rearrangements required to bend and fold the ...

Using the Horseshoe Crab, Limulus Polyphemus, in Vision Research

The American horseshoe crab, Limulus Polyphemus is one of the oldest creatures on earth, and the animal continues to play an indispensable role in biomedical research. Not only does their blood contain special cells that scientists use to detect bacteriotoxins in our medicines, but their eyes also contain a neural network that has provided much insight about physiological processes operating in our visual system, such as light adaptation and lateral inhibition. The horseshoe crab remains an attractive model for vision research because the animal is large and hardy for an invertebrate, its retinal neurons are big and easily accessible, its visual system is compact and extensively studied, and its visual behavior is well defined. Moreover, the structure and function of the eyes are modulated on a daily basis by a circadian clock in the animal s brain. In short, the visual system of horseshoe crabs is simple enough to be understood yet complex enough to be interesting.
In this video we present three electrophysiological paradigms for investigating the neural basis of vision that can be performed in vivo with Limulus. They are electroretinogram recording, optic nerve recording, and intraretinal recording. Electroretinogram (ERG) recordings measure with a surface electrode the summed electrical response of all cells in the eye to a flash of light. They can be used to monitor the overall sensitivity of the eye for prolong periods of time. Optic nerve recordings measure the spiking activity of single nerve fibers with an extracellular microsuction electrode. They can be used to study visual messages conveyed from the eye to the brain as well as circadian-clock messages fed back from the brain to the eye. Intraretinal recordings measure with an intracellular microelectrode the voltage fluctuations induced by light in individual cells of the eye. They can be used to elucidate cellular mechanisms of retinal processing.

Using the Horseshoe Crab, Limulus Polyphemus, in Vision Research

In this video we perform electroretinogram recording, optic nerve recording, and intraretinal recording with the American horseshoe crab, Limulus Polyphemus. These electrophysiological paradigms can be used for investigating the neural basis of vision in a research or teaching lab.

Utilizzando il Granchio Ferro di Cavallo, Limulus Polifemo, In Vision Research

The American horseshoe crab, Limulus Polyphemus is one of the oldest creatures on earth, and the animal continues to play an indispensable role in ...

Making Gynogenetic Diploid Zebrafish by Early Pressure

Heterozygosity in diploid eukaryotes often makes genetic studies cumbersome. Methods that produce viable homozygous diploid offspring directly from heterozygous females allow F1 mutagenized females to be screened directly for deleterious mutations in an accelerated forward genetic screen. Streisinger et al.1,2 described methods for making gynogenetic (homozygous) diploid zebrafish by activating zebrafish eggs with ultraviolet light-inactivated sperm and preventing either the second meiotic or the first zygotic cell division using physical treatments (heat or pressure) that deploymerize microtubules. The "early pressure" (EP) method blocks the meiosis II, which occurs shortly after fertilization. The EP method produces a high percentage of viable embryos that can develop to fertile adults of either sex. The method generates embryos that are homozygous at all loci except those that were separated from their centromere by recombination during meiosis I. Homozygous mutations are detected in EP clutches at between 50% for centromeric loci and less than 1% for telomeric loci. This method is reproduced verbatim from the Zebrafish Book3.

This is a method for generating gynogenetic diploid zebrafish embryos (embryos whose only genetic contribution comes from the mother) by blocking the second meiotic division immediately after fertilization with ultraviolet light-inactivated sperm. EP embryos are not fully homozygous due to recombination during the first meiotic division, however they are homozygous at all loci that have not been separated from their centromere by recombination.

Fare Diploide Zebrafish Gynogenetic di Pressure presto

Heterozygosity in diploid eukaryotes often makes genetic studies cumbersome. Methods that produce viable homozygous diploid offspring directly from ...

Long-term Culture of Human Breast Cancer Specimens and Their Analysis Using Optical Projection Tomography

Breast cancer is a leading cause of mortality in the Western world. It is well established that the spread of breast cancer, first locally and later distally, is a major factor in patient prognosis. Experimental systems of breast cancer rely on cell lines usually derived from primary tumours or pleural effusions. Two major obstacles hinder this research: (i) some known sub-types of breast cancers (notably poor prognosis luminal B tumours) are not represented within current line collections; (ii) the influence of the tumour microenvironment is not usually taken into account.
We demonstrate a technique to culture primary breast cancer specimens of all sub-types. This is achieved by using three-dimensional (3D) culture system in which small pieces of tumour are embedded in soft rat collagen I cushions. Within 2-3 weeks, the tumour cells spread into the collagen and form various structures similar to those observed in human tumours1. Viable adipocytes, epithelial cells and fibroblasts within the original core were evident on histology. Malignant epithelial cells with squamoid morphology were demonstrated invading into the surrounding collagen. Nuclear pleomorphism was evident within these cells, along with mitotic figures and apoptotic bodies.
We have employed Optical Projection Tomography (OPT), a 3D imaging technology, in order to quantify the extent of tumour spread in culture. We have used OPT to measure the bulk volume of the tumour culture, a parameter routinely measured during the neo-adjuvant treatment of breast cancer patients to assess response to drug therapy. 
Here, we present an opportunity to culture human breast tumours without sub-type bias and quantify the spread of those ex vivo. This method could be used in the future to quantify drug sensitivity in original tumour. This may provide a more predictive model than currently used cell lines.

We have developed a collagen-based in vitro assay which promotes proliferation and invasion from samples of all breast cancer subtypes. Optical Projection Tomography, a three dimensional microscopy technique was utilised to visualise and quantify tumour expansion. This assay may be used to quantify drug response of individual tumour samples.

A lungo termine Cultura di campioni umani cancro al seno e la loro analisi utilizzando la tomografia ottica di proiezione

Breast cancer is a leading cause of mortality in the Western world. It is well established that the spread of breast cancer, first locally and later ...

Mapping the After-effects of Theta Burst Stimulation on the Human Auditory Cortex with Functional Imaging

Auditory cortex pertains to the processing of sound, which is at the basis of speech or music-related processing1. However, despite considerable recent progress, the functional properties and lateralization of the human auditory cortex are far from being fully understood. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive technique that can transiently or lastingly modulate cortical excitability via the application of localized magnetic field pulses, and represents a unique method of exploring plasticity and connectivity. It has only recently begun to be applied to understand auditory cortical function 2. 
An important issue in using TMS is that the physiological consequences of the stimulation are difficult to establish. Although many TMS studies make the implicit assumption that the area targeted by the coil is the area affected, this need not be the case, particularly for complex cognitive functions which depend on interactions across many brain regions 3. One solution to this problem is to combine TMS with functional Magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The idea here is that fMRI will provide an index of changes in brain activity associated with TMS. Thus, fMRI would give an independent means of assessing which areas are affected by TMS and how they are modulated 4. In addition, fMRI allows the assessment of functional connectivity, which represents a measure of the temporal coupling between distant regions. It can thus be useful not only to measure the net activity modulation induced by TMS in given locations, but also the degree to which the network properties are affected by TMS, via any observed changes in functional connectivity.
Different approaches exist to combine TMS and functional imaging according to the temporal order of the methods. Functional MRI can be applied before, during, after, or both before and after TMS. Recently, some studies interleaved TMS and fMRI in order to provide online mapping of the functional changes induced by TMS 5-7. However, this online combination has many technical problems, including the static artifacts resulting from the presence of the TMS coil in the scanner room, or the effects of TMS pulses on the process of MR image formation. But more importantly, the loud acoustic noise induced by TMS (increased compared with standard use because of the resonance of the scanner bore) and the increased TMS coil vibrations (caused by the strong mechanical forces due to the static magnetic field of the MR scanner) constitute a crucial problem when studying auditory processing. 
This is one reason why fMRI was carried out before and after TMS in the present study. Similar approaches have been used to target the motor cortex 8,9, premotor cortex 10, primary somatosensory cortex 11,12 and language-related areas 13, but so far no combined TMS-fMRI study has investigated the auditory cortex. The purpose of this article is to provide details concerning the protocol and considerations necessary to successfully combine these two neuroscientific tools to investigate auditory processing. 
Previously we showed that repetitive TMS (rTMS) at high and low frequencies (resp. 10 Hz and 1 Hz) applied over the auditory cortex modulated response time (RT) in a melody discrimination task 2. We also showed that RT modulation was correlated with functional connectivity in the auditory network assessed using fMRI: the higher the functional connectivity between left and right auditory cortices during task performance, the higher the facilitatory effect (i.e. decreased RT) observed with rTMS. However those findings were mainly correlational, as fMRI was performed before rTMS. Here, fMRI was carried out before and immediately after TMS to provide direct measures of the functional organization of the auditory cortex, and more specifically of the plastic reorganization of the auditory neural network occurring after the neural intervention provided by TMS. 
Combined fMRI and TMS applied over the auditory cortex should enable a better understanding of brain mechanisms of auditory processing, providing physiological information about functional effects of TMS. This knowledge could be useful for many cognitive neuroscience applications, as well as for optimizing therapeutic applications of TMS, particularly in auditory-related disorders.

Auditory processing is the basis of speech and music-related processing. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) has been used successfully to study cognitive, sensory and motor systems but has rarely been applied to audition. Here we investigated TMS combined with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging to understand the functional organization of auditory cortex.

Mappatura delle postumi di Theta Burst stimolazione sulla corteccia uditiva umana con imaging funzionale

Auditory cortex pertains to the processing of sound, which is at the basis of speech or music-related processing1. However, despite considerable recent ...

Obtaining Specimens with Slowed, Accelerated and Reversed Aging in the Honey Bee Model

Societies of highly social animals feature vast lifespan differences between closely related individuals. Among social insects, the honey bee is the best established model to study how plasticity in lifespan and aging is explained by social factors.
The worker caste of honey bees includes nurse bees, which tend the brood, and forager bees, which collect nectar and pollen. Previous work has shown that brain functions and flight performance senesce more rapidly in foragers than in nurses. However, brain functions can recover, when foragers revert back to nursing tasks. Such patterns of accelerated and reversed functional senescence are linked to changed metabolic resource levels, to alterations in protein abundance and to immune function. Vitellogenin, a yolk protein with adapted functions in hormonal control and cellular defense, may serve as a major regulatory element in a network that controls the different aging dynamics in workers.
Here we describe how the emergence of nurses and foragers can be monitored, and manipulated, including the reversal from typically short-lived foragers into longer-lived nurses. Our representative results show how individuals with similar chronological age differentiate into foragers and nurse bees under experimental conditions. We exemplify how behavioral reversal from foragers back to nurses can be validated. Last, we show how different cellular senescence can be assessed by measuring the accumulation of lipofuscin, a universal biomarker of senescence.
For studying mechanisms that may link social influences and aging plasticity, this protocol provides a standardized tool set to acquire relevant sample material, and to improve data comparability among future studies.

In honey bee workers, aging depends on social behaviors rather than on chronological age. Here we show how worker-types with very different aging patterns can be obtained and analyzed for cellular senescence.

Ottenere campioni con rallentato, accelerato e invertito l&#39;invecchiamento in Honey Bee Modello

Societies of highly social animals feature vast lifespan differences between closely related individuals. Among social insects, the honey bee is the best ...

Sampling Blood from the Lateral Tail Vein of the Rat

Blood samples are commonly obtained in many experimental contexts to measure targets of interest, including hormones, immune factors, growth factors, proteins, and glucose, yet the composition of the blood is dynamically regulated and easily perturbed. One factor that can change the blood composition is the stress response triggered by the sampling procedure, which can contribute to variability in the measures of interest. Here we describe a procedure for blood sampling from the lateral tail vein in the rat. This procedure offers significant advantages over other more commonly used techniques. It permits rapid sampling with minimal pain or invasiveness, without anesthesia or analgesia. Additionally, it can be used to obtain large volume samples (upwards of 1 ml in some rats), and it may be used repeatedly across experimental days. By minimizing the stress response and pain resulting from blood sampling, measures can more accurately reflect the true basal state of the animal, with minimal influence from the sampling procedure itself.

Blood samples are useful for assessing biomarkers of physiological states or disease in vivo. Here we describe the methodology to sample blood from the lateral tail vein in the rat. This method provides rapid samples with minimal pain and invasiveness.

Prelievo di sangue dalla vena della coda laterale del Topo

Blood samples are commonly obtained in many experimental contexts to measure targets of interest, including hormones, immune factors, growth factors, ...