The objectives were to evaluate alterations in ischemic rat pups, from dams administered with curcumin (25 and 50&#x2009;mg/kg). Ten-day-old male pups were subjected or not (SO) to brain ischemia and reperfusion, for 1, 7, and 14 days (this last group was submitted to behavioral evaluation). After that, pups were euthanized for determinations of striatal DA and DOPAC in SO, ischemic from untreated (ICUD) or curcumin treated (ICTD) dams, as well as hippocampal immunohistochemistry assays for iNOS and COX-2 and cresyl violet staining. At  the 14th postischemia day, the ICUD group showed  increased locomotor activity and rearing behavior, which were reversed in ICTD animals. ICUD pups presented decreased striatal DA and DOPAC levels, relatively to SO, mainly at the 1st postischemia day, but also at the 7th and 14th days which were partially reversed in ICTD pups. A greater number of viable neurons were observed in ICTD, as related to the ICUD group. Ischemia increased iNOS and COX-2 expressions, in CA1 and CA3 areas, at the 1st, 7th, and 14th postischemia days, and these effects were minimized in ICTD pups. In conclusion, the prenatal curcumin treatment was shown to be neuroprotective where the drug anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects probably play a role.

Maria Val&#xe9;ria Leimig Telles

Maria Elizabeth Pereira Nobre

Lucas Parente Alencar

Keicy Parente de Siqueira

Ada Maria Farias Sousa Borges

M&#xe1;rnya Wellysa Leite Tavares

Isabelle Bernardo Alves

Lara Soares Duarte

Nat&#xe1;lia Kelly Rodrigues de Lacerda

Glaura Fernandes Teixeira de Alc&#xe2;ntara

D&#xe9;bora Amado Scerni

Kelly Rose Tavares Neves

Glauce Socorro de Barros Viana

Prenatal Curcumin Administration Reverses Behavioral and  Neurochemical Effects and Decreases iNOS and COX-2 Expressions in Ischemic Rat Pups

It has been suggested that the left temporal pole (Brodmann area 38 (BA38)) participates in diverse language functions, including semantic processing, speech comprehension, and naming. Utilizing the activation likelihood estimation (ALE), a meta-analytic connectivity study was conducted to further our understanding on the role of BA38 in language. Departing from the BrainMap functional database, 11 papers corresponding to 12 paradigms including 201 participants were selected. Initially, <svg xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" style="vertical-align:-0.6617603pt" id="M1" height="9.65971pt" version="1.1" viewBox="-0.0498162 -8.99795 46.7259 9.65971" width="46.7259pt"><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,0,0)"><path id="g113-81" d="M600 480C600 590 528 650 384 650H143L137 622C222 614 225 607 210 531L130 127C113 41 106 36 23 28L17 0H294L300 28C204 36 195 42 212 127L243 284L314 263C327 263 339 263 352 264C465 271 600 337 600 480ZM508 481C508 351 402 304 329 304C289 304 265 311 250 317L295 559C302 594 310 606 323 611C335 616 350 619 367 619C455 619 508 573 508 481Z"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,12.15,0)"><path id="g117-91" d="M512 -3V55L134 254V256L512 456V514L75 281V230L512 -3Z"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,23.887,0)"><path id="g113-49" d="M241 635C89 635 35 457 35 312C35 153 89 -12 240 -12C390 -12 443 166 443 312C443 466 390 635 241 635ZM238 602C329 602 354 454 354 312C354 172 330 22 240 22C152 22 124 173 124 313S148 602 238 602Z"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,30.39,0)"><path id="g113-47" d="M113 -12C146 -12 170 11 170 46C170 78 146 103 114 103S58 78 58 46C58 11 82 -12 113 -12Z"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,33.48,0)"><use xlink:href="#g113-49"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,39.983,0)"><path id="g113-50" d="M384 0V27C293 34 287 42 287 114V635C232 613 172 594 109 583V559L157 557C201 555 205 550 205 499V114C205 42 199 34 109 27V0H384Z"/></g></svg> was employed as the significance level, resulting in the presence of four different activation clusters. However, when the significance level was lowered to <svg xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" style="vertical-align:-0.6617603pt" id="M2" height="9.65971pt" version="1.1" viewBox="-0.0498162 -8.99795 46.7259 9.65971" width="46.7259pt"><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,0,0)"><use xlink:href="#g113-81"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,12.15,0)"><use xlink:href="#g117-91"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,23.887,0)"><use xlink:href="#g113-49"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,30.39,0)"><use xlink:href="#g113-47"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,33.48,0)"><use xlink:href="#g113-49"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,39.983,0)"><path id="g113-54" d="M153 550H386L412 615L406 623H120L82 318C104 327 142 338 184 338C294 338 347 275 347 187C347 112 305 39 221 39C160 39 119 71 97 89C88 97 80 96 71 90C59 80 50 67 49 57C48 45 52 36 66 23C80 9 123 -12 169 -12C221 -11 288 15 342 59C403 109 431 165 431 225C431 308 366 395 238 395C212 395 165 379 127 364L153 550Z"/></g></svg>, sixteen activation clusters appeared, including classical language areas such as Broca&#x2019;s and Wernicke&#x2019;s areas. It was concluded that (1) this meta-analytic connectivity study suggests the presence of two major connection circuits involving BA38; one is related to language, while the other may be involved in visuospatial and integrative audiovisual functions. Furthermore, (2) BA38 also contributes to various brain networks supporting linguistic processes related not only to language comprehension but also to language production.

Alfredo Ardila

Byron Bernal

Monica Rosselli

The Elusive Role of the Left Temporal Pole (BA38) in Language: A Preliminary Meta-Analytic Connectivity Study

As the emergence of cancer is most frequent in proliferating tissues, replication errors are considered to be at the base of this disease. This review concentrates mainly on two neural cancers, neuroblastoma and glioma, with completely different backgrounds that are well documented with respect to their ontogeny. Although clinical data on other cancers of the nervous system are available, usually little can be said about their origins. Neuroblastoma is initiated in the embryo at a moment when the nervous system (NS) is in full expansion and occasionally genomic damage can lead to neoplasia. Glioma, to the contrary, occurs in the adult brain supposed to be mostly in a postmitotic state. According to current consensus, neural stem cells located in the subventricular zone (SVZ) in the adult are thought to accumulate enough genomic mutations to diverge on a carcinogenic course leading to diverse forms of glioma. After weighing the pros and cons of this current hypothesis in this review, it will be argued that this may be improbable, yielding to the original old concept of glial origin of glioma.

Jan de Weille

On the Genesis of Neuroblastoma and Glioma

Mefloquine and Artequin are two effective antimalarial drugs currently in use in the treatment of uncomplicated malaria. This study was to investigate the hippocampal glial degenerative potentials of these drugs in adult Wistar rats. Forty-nine adult Wistar rats weighing 200&#x2009;g were divided into groups 1&#x2013;7. Group 1 served as the control that received distilled water, while groups 2&#x2013;7 received oral doses of 0.86/1.07&#x2009;mg/kg, 1.71/2.14&#x2009;mg/kg, and 3.24/4.28&#x2009;mg/kg of Artequin and 1.07&#x2009;mg/kg, 2.14&#x2009;mg/kg, and 4.28&#x2009;mg/kg of Mefloquine. The treatment lasted for three days, and on day 4 the animals were sacrificed. Their hippocampi were preserved in neutral formal saline and processed by silver impregnation method. The histomorphology of the hippocampal sections of rats in the groups treated with 2.14&#x2009;mg/kg and 4.28&#x2009;mg/kg of Mefloquine and 0.86/1.07&#x2009;mg/kg, 1.71/2.14&#x2009;mg/kg, and 3.24/4.28&#x2009;mg/kg of Artequin showed large and dense populations of astrocytes and astrocytes&#x2019; processes, with either loss or reduction in the population of oligodendrocytes. There was also loss in the population of pyramidal neurons all compared with the control group. In conclusion, Mefloquine and Artequin administration induced dose-dependent reactive astrocytes and astrocytes&#x2019; processes formation in the hippocampus. This may impair the uptake of neurotransmitter and alter neuronal environment thus altering the hippocampal function.

Nsikan-Abasi B. Udoh

Theresa B. Ekanem

Moses B. Ekong

Aniekan I. Peter

Amabe O. Akpantah

Hippocampal Glial Degenerative Potentials of Mefloquine and Artequin in Adult Wistar Rats

<i  >Introduction.</i> Calabash chalk contains heavy metals, and this lead to this study on the effect of this chalk on the behavior and the histomorphology of the cerebral cortex of gestating rats. <i  >Material &#x26; Methods.</i> 24 female rats were equally divided into 4 groups and were mated at preostrous with the males. The day after mating was designated as day 1 of gestation. On gestation days 7&#x2013;20, groups 1, 2, 3, and 4 animals were treated with 1&#x2009;mL of distilled water, and 1&#x2009;mL (200&#x2009;mg/kg), 2&#x2009;mL (400&#x2009;mg/kg), and 3&#x2009;mL (600&#x2009;mg/kg) of calabash chalk suspension, respectively. On pregnancy day 21, behavioral tests using the open field and the light/dark mazes were carried out and the animals subsequently euthanized and their brains were routinely processed. <i  >Results.</i> There was no difference in ambulatory activities, but group 4 animals had more (<svg     style="vertical-align:-0.1638pt;width:58.712502px;" id="M1" height="11.375" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 58.712502 11.375" width="58.712502"  xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
	
		
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</svg>) transition frequency and were more averse to the dark in the light and dark field, while sections of the cerebral cortex showed a higher (<svg     style="vertical-align:-0.1638pt;width:58.712502px;" id="M2" height="11.375" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 58.712502 11.375" width="58.712502"  xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
	
		
			<g transform="matrix(.017,-0,0,-.017,.062,11.112)"><use xlink:href="#x1D443"/></g><g transform="matrix(.017,-0,0,-.017,15.582,11.112)"><use xlink:href="#x3C"/></g><g transform="matrix(.017,-0,0,-.017,30.286,11.112)"><use xlink:href="#x30"/></g><g transform="matrix(.017,-0,0,-.017,38.446,11.112)"><use xlink:href="#x2E"/></g><g transform="matrix(.017,-0,0,-.017,42.321,11.112)"><use xlink:href="#x30"/></g><g transform="matrix(.017,-0,0,-.017,50.481,11.112)"><use xlink:href="#x35"/></g>

		
	
</svg>) cellular population, hypertrophied pyramidal cells, and vacuolations in the treatment groups. <i  >Conclusion.</i> Calabash chalk may have anxiolytic effect especially at high dose in the light and dark field but not in the open field and can stimulate maternal cerebral cortical cellular changes.

Mokutima A. Eluwa

Christopher C. Mbadugha

Eme E. Osim

Calabash Chalk's Geophagy Affects Gestating Rats' Behavior and the Histomorphology of the Cerebral Cortex

This paper reports the discovery of a geometrical algorithm that provides a coherent step by step mechanical account of the structure of the nervous system, including the vertebrate brain, the spinal cord, the vertebral column, and the spinal nerves. The morphology of these organs and the observed steps of neural development are well described, consequent of centuries of study. But morphogenesis, the origin and cause of these forms, has not been studied since the last half of the nineteenth century. Neurology does not teach how the brain gained its shape, nor have any causative theories of brain formation been published in recent times. This paper proposes a hypothetical construction based on the discovery of a simple algorithm which generates topologically the form of the brain, the spinal cord, and the vertebral column by the deformation of a gridded segmented sphere by the inversion of its surface. The hypothetical model is in close analogy with nature: the blastula is a segmented gridded sphere which results from the subdivision of the egg. The first step of embryogenesis is gastrulation, where blastula is pressed to enter its own interior, pulling the surface inside out, forming the embryo.

Peter Sheesley

Mark McMenamin

Janusz Kusyk

Stuart Pivar

The Morphogenic Mapping of the Brain and the Design of the Nervous System

The molecular chaperone heat shock protein 90 alpha (Hsp90<i>&#x3b1;</i>) has been recognized in various tumours including glioma. This pilot study using a proteomic approach analyses the downstream effects of Hsp90 inhibition using 17-allylamino-17-demethoxygeldanamycin (17AAG) and a short hairpin RNA (shRNA) oligonucleotide targeting <i>hsp90&#x3b1;</i> (sh<i>hsp90&#x3b1;</i>) in the U87-MG glioma cell line. Preliminary data coupled with bioinformatic analysis identified several known and unknown Hsp90 client proteins that demonstrated a change in their protein expression after Hsp90 inhibition, signifying an alteration in the canonical pathways of  cell cycle progression, apoptosis, cell invasion, angiogenesis, and metastasis. Members of the glycolysis pathway were upregulated, demonstrating increased dependency on glycolysis for energy source by the treated glioma cells. Upregulated proteins also include Hsp70 and members of its family such as Hsp27 and gp96, thereby suggesting the role of Hsp90 co-chaperones in compensating for Hsp90 function after Hsp90 inhibition. Considering Hsp70&#x2019;s role in antiapoptosis, it was postulated that a combination therapy involving a multitarget approach could be carried out. Consequently inhibition of both Hsp90 and Hsp70 in U87-MG glioma cells resulted in 60&#x25; cell death indicating the importance of combination therapy for glioma therapeutics.

Chinmay Munje

Leroy Shervington

Zarine Khan

Amal Shervington

Could Upregulated Hsp70 Protein Compensate for the Hsp90-Silence-Induced Cell Death in Glioma Cells?

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International Journal of Brain Science