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Zabegalov KN, Costa FV, Kolesnikova TO, de Abreu MS, Petersen EV, Yenkoyan KB, Kalueff AV. Can we gain translational insights into the functional roles of cerebral cortex from acortical rodent and naturally acortical zebrafish models? Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2024; 132:110964. [PMID: 38354895 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2024.110964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2023] [Revised: 01/11/2024] [Accepted: 02/11/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
Cerebral cortex is found only in mammals and is particularly prominent and developed in humans. Various rodent models with fully or partially ablated cortex are commonly used to probe the role of cortex in brain functions and its multiple subcortical projections, including pallium, thalamus and the limbic system. Various rodent models are traditionally used to study the role of cortex in brain functions. A small teleost fish, the zebrafish (Danio rerio), has gained popularity in neuroscience research, and albeit (like other fishes) lacking cortex, its brain performs well some key functions (e.g., memory, consciousness and motivation) with complex, context-specific and well-defined behaviors. Can rodent and zebrafish models help generate insights into the role of cortex in brain functions, and dissect its cortex-specific (vs. non-cortical) functions? To address this conceptual question, here we evaluate brain functionality in intact vs. decorticated rodents and further compare it in the zebrafish, a naturally occurring acortical species. Overall, comparing cortical and acortical rodent models with naturally acortical zebrafish reveals both distinct and overlapping contributions of neocortex and 'precortical' zebrafish telencephalic regions to higher brain functions. Albeit morphologically different, mammalian neocortex and fish pallium may possess more functional similarities than it is presently recognized, calling for further integrative research utilizing both cortical and decorticated/acortical vertebrate model organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Konstantin N Zabegalov
- Neurobiology Program, Sirius University of Science and Technology, Sochi, Russia; National Laboratory Astana, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan; Life Improvement by Future Technologies (LIFT) Center, LLC, Moscow, Russia
| | - Fabiano V Costa
- Neurobiology Program, Sirius University of Science and Technology, Sochi, Russia
| | | | | | | | - Konstantin B Yenkoyan
- Neuroscience Laboratory, COBRAIN Center, Yerevan State Medical University named after M. Heratsi, Yerevan, Armenia; Department of Biochemistry, Yerevan State Medical University named after M. Heratsi, Yerevan, Armenia.
| | - Allan V Kalueff
- Neurobiology Program, Sirius University of Science and Technology, Sochi, Russia; Institute of Translational Biomedicine, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia; Institute of Experimental Medicine, Almazov National Medical Research Centre, Ministry of Healthcare of Russian Federation, St. Petersburg, Russia.
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Matias I, Elias-Filho DH, Garcia CAB, Silva GH, Mejia J, Cabral FR, Miranda ACC, Gomes da Silva S, da Silva Lopes L, Coimbra NC, Machado HR. A new model of experimental hemispherotomy in young adult Rattus norvegicus: a neural tract tracing and SPECT in vivo study. J Neurosurg 2019; 130:1210-1223. [PMID: 29882701 DOI: 10.3171/2017.12.jns171150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2017] [Accepted: 12/11/2017] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to describe a new experimental model of hemispherotomy performed on laboratory animals. METHODS Twenty-six male young adult Wistar rats were distributed into two groups (surgery and control). The nonfluorescent anterograde neurotracer biotinylated dextran amine (BDA; 10,000 MW) was microinjected into the motor cortex area (M1) according to The Rat Brain in Stereotaxic Coordinates atlas to identify pathways and fibers disconnected after the experimental hemispherectomy. SPECT tomographic images of 99mTc hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime were obtained to verify perfusion in functioning areas of the disconnected and intact brain. A reproducible and validated surgical procedure is described in detail, including exact measurements and anatomical relationships. An additional 30 rodents (n = 10 rats per group) were divided into naïve, sham, and hemispherotomy groups and underwent the rotarod test. RESULTS Cortico-cortical neural pathways were identified crossing the midline and contacting neuronal perikarya in the contralateral brain hemisphere in controls, but not in animals undergoing hemispherotomy. There was an absence of perfusion in the left side of the brain of the animals undergoing hemispherotomy. Motor performance was significantly affected by brain injuries, increasing the number of attempts to maintain balance on the moving cylinder in the rotarod test at 10 and 30 days after the hemispherotomy, with a tendency to minimize the motor performance deficit over time. CONCLUSIONS The present findings show that the technique reproduced neural disconnection with minimal resection of brain parenchyma in young adult rats, thereby duplicating the hemispherotomy procedures in human patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivair Matias
- 1Laboratory of Pediatric Neurosurgery and Developmental Neuropathology, Department of Surgery and Anatomy
- 2Laboratory of Neuroanatomy and Neuropsychobiology, Department of Pharmacology, and
| | | | | | - Guilherme Henrique Silva
- 1Laboratory of Pediatric Neurosurgery and Developmental Neuropathology, Department of Surgery and Anatomy
| | | | | | | | - Sérgio Gomes da Silva
- 3Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein; and
- 5Núcleo de Pesquisas Tecnológicas (NPT), Universidade de Mogi das Cruzes, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Luíza da Silva Lopes
- 1Laboratory of Pediatric Neurosurgery and Developmental Neuropathology, Department of Surgery and Anatomy
| | - Norberto Cysne Coimbra
- 2Laboratory of Neuroanatomy and Neuropsychobiology, Department of Pharmacology, and
- 4Neuroelectrophysiology Multiuser Centre and Neurobiology of Pain and Emotions Laboratory, Department of Surgery and Anatomy, Ribeirão Preto Medical School of the University of São Paulo
| | - Hélio Rubens Machado
- 1Laboratory of Pediatric Neurosurgery and Developmental Neuropathology, Department of Surgery and Anatomy
- 4Neuroelectrophysiology Multiuser Centre and Neurobiology of Pain and Emotions Laboratory, Department of Surgery and Anatomy, Ribeirão Preto Medical School of the University of São Paulo
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Mohammed H, Hollis ER. Cortical Reorganization of Sensorimotor Systems and the Role of Intracortical Circuits After Spinal Cord Injury. Neurotherapeutics 2018; 15:588-603. [PMID: 29882081 PMCID: PMC6095783 DOI: 10.1007/s13311-018-0638-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The plasticity of sensorimotor systems in mammals underlies the capacity for motor learning as well as the ability to relearn following injury. Spinal cord injury, which both deprives afferent input and interrupts efferent output, results in a disruption of cortical somatotopy. While changes in corticospinal axons proximal to the lesion are proposed to support the reorganization of cortical motor maps after spinal cord injury, intracortical horizontal connections are also likely to be critical substrates for rehabilitation-mediated recovery. Intrinsic connections have been shown to dictate the reorganization of cortical maps that occurs in response to skilled motor learning as well as after peripheral injury. Cortical networks incorporate changes in motor and sensory circuits at subcortical or spinal levels to induce map remodeling in the neocortex. This review focuses on the reorganization of cortical networks observed after injury and posits a role of intracortical circuits in recovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hisham Mohammed
- Burke Neurological Institute, 785 Mamaroneck Avenue, White Plains, NY, 10605, USA
| | - Edmund R Hollis
- Burke Neurological Institute, 785 Mamaroneck Avenue, White Plains, NY, 10605, USA.
- Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
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Morosanu CO, Jurca RL, Simonca L, Ilies RF, Moldovan R, Florian IS, Filip GA. Experimental cerebral hemispherectomy in rodent models. A systematic review of current literature. Acta Neurobiol Exp (Wars) 2018. [DOI: 10.21307/ane-2018-003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
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Sebastianelli L, Versace V, Taylor A, Brigo F, Nothdurfter W, Saltuari L, Trinka E, Nardone R. Functional reorganization after hemispherectomy in humans and animal models: What can we learn about the brain's resilience to extensive unilateral lesions? Brain Res Bull 2017; 131:156-167. [PMID: 28414105 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2017.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2017] [Revised: 04/05/2017] [Accepted: 04/11/2017] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Hemispherectomy (HS) is an effective surgical procedure aimed at managing otherwise intractable epilepsy in cases of diffuse unihemispheric pathologies. Neurological recovery in subjects treated with HS is not limited to seizure reduction, rather, sensory-motor and behavioral improvement is often observed. This outcome highlights the considerable capability of the brain to react to such an extensive lesion, by functionally reorganizing and rewiring the cerebral cortex, especially early in life. In this narrative review, we summarize the animal studies as well as the human neurophysiological and neuroimaging studies dealing with the reorganizational processes that occur after HS. These topics are of particular interest in understanding mechanisms of functional recovery after brain injury. HS offers the chance to investigate contralesional hemisphere activity in controlling ipsilateral limb movements, and the role of transcallosal interactions, before and after the surgical procedure. These post-injury neuroplastic phenomena actually differ from those observed after less extensive brain damage. Therefore, they illustrate how different lesions could lead the contralesional hemisphere to play the "good" or "bad" role in functional recovery. These issues may have clinical implications and could inform rehabilitation strategies aiming to improve functional recovery following unilateral hemispheric lesions. Future studies, involving large cohorts of hemispherectomized patients, will be necessary in order to obtain a greater understanding of how cerebral reorganization can contribute to residual sensorimotor, visual and auditory functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Sebastianelli
- Department of Neurorehabilitation, Hospital of Vipiteno, Italy, and Research Unit for Neurorehabilitation of South Tyrol, Bolzano, Italy
| | - Viviana Versace
- Department of Neurorehabilitation, Hospital of Vipiteno, Italy, and Research Unit for Neurorehabilitation of South Tyrol, Bolzano, Italy
| | - Alexandra Taylor
- Department of Neurology, Christian Doppler Klinik, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Francesco Brigo
- Department of Neurology, Franz Tappeiner Hospital, Merano, Italy; Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Wolfgang Nothdurfter
- Department of Neurorehabilitation, Hospital of Vipiteno, Italy, and Research Unit for Neurorehabilitation of South Tyrol, Bolzano, Italy
| | - Leopold Saltuari
- Department of Neurorehabilitation, Hospital of Vipiteno, Italy, and Research Unit for Neurorehabilitation of South Tyrol, Bolzano, Italy
| | - Eugen Trinka
- Department of Neurology, Christian Doppler Klinik, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria; Centre of Cognitive Neuroscience, Christian Doppler Klinik, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Raffaele Nardone
- Department of Neurology, Christian Doppler Klinik, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria; Department of Neurology, Franz Tappeiner Hospital, Merano, Italy.
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