1
|
González-Marrero I, Hernandez-Garcia JA, Gonzalez-Davila E, Carmona-Calero EM, Gonzalez-Toledo JM, Catañeyra-Ruiz L, Henandez-Abad LG, Castañeyra-Perdomo A. Variations of the grid and place cells in the entorhinal cortex and dentate gyrus of 6 individuals aged 56 to 87 years. Neurologia 2024; 39:244-253. [PMID: 37442425 DOI: 10.1016/j.nrleng.2023.07.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2021] [Accepted: 04/27/2021] [Indexed: 07/15/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The relationship between the entorhinal cortex (EC) and the hippocampus has been studied by different authors, who have highlighted the importance of grid cells, place cells, and the trisynaptic circuit in the processes that they regulate: the persistence of spatial, explicit, and recent memory and their possible impairment with ageing. OBJECTIVE We aimed to determine whether older age causes changes in the size and number of grid cells contained in layer III of the EC and in the granular layer of the dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus. METHODS We conducted post-mortem studies of the brains of 6 individuals aged 56-87 years. The brain sections containing the DG and the adjacent EC were stained according to the Klüver-Barrera method, then the ImageJ software was used to measure the individual neuronal area, the total neuronal area, and the number of neurons contained in rectangular areas in layer III of the EC and layer II of the DG. Statistical analysis was subsequently performed. RESULTS We observed an age-related reduction in the cell population of the external pyramidal layer of the EC, and in the number of neurons in the granular layer of the DG. CONCLUSION Our results indicate that ageing causes a decrease in the size and density of grid cells of the EC and place cells of the DG.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- I González-Marrero
- Unidad de Anatomía y Embriología Humana, Departamento de Ciencias Médicas Básicas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Islas Canarias, Spain
| | - J A Hernandez-Garcia
- Unidad de Anatomía y Embriología Humana, Departamento de Ciencias Médicas Básicas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Islas Canarias, Spain
| | - E Gonzalez-Davila
- Departamento de Matemáticas, Estadística e Investigación Operativa, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Islas Canarias, Spain
| | - E M Carmona-Calero
- Unidad de Anatomía y Embriología Humana, Departamento de Ciencias Médicas Básicas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Islas Canarias, Spain; Instituto de Investigación y Ciencias, Puerto del Rosario, Fuerteventura, Islas Canarias, Spain
| | - J M Gonzalez-Toledo
- Unidad de Anatomía y Embriología Humana, Departamento de Ciencias Médicas Básicas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Islas Canarias, Spain
| | - L Catañeyra-Ruiz
- Department of Neurological Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine and the St. Louis Children's Hospital, St. Louis, Missouri, United States
| | - L G Henandez-Abad
- Unidad de Anatomía y Embriología Humana, Departamento de Ciencias Médicas Básicas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Islas Canarias, Spain; Instituto de Investigación y Ciencias, Puerto del Rosario, Fuerteventura, Islas Canarias, Spain
| | - A Castañeyra-Perdomo
- Unidad de Anatomía y Embriología Humana, Departamento de Ciencias Médicas Básicas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Islas Canarias, Spain; Instituto de Investigación y Ciencias, Puerto del Rosario, Fuerteventura, Islas Canarias, Spain.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Reinshagen A. Grid cells: the missing link in understanding Parkinson's disease? Front Neurosci 2024; 18:1276714. [PMID: 38389787 PMCID: PMC10881698 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1276714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024] Open
Abstract
The mechanisms underlying Parkinson's disease (PD) are complex and not fully understood, and the box-and-arrow model among other current models present significant challenges. This paper explores the potential role of the allocentric brain and especially its grid cells in several PD motor symptoms, including bradykinesia, kinesia paradoxa, freezing of gait, the bottleneck phenomenon, and their dependency on cueing. It is argued that central hubs, like the locus coeruleus and the pedunculopontine nucleus, often narrowly interpreted in the context of PD, play an equally important role in governing the allocentric brain as the basal ganglia. Consequently, the motor and secondary motor (e.g., spatially related) symptoms of PD linked with dopamine depletion may be more closely tied to erroneous computation by grid cells than to the basal ganglia alone. Because grid cells and their associated central hubs introduce both spatial and temporal information to the brain influencing velocity perception they may cause bradykinesia or hyperkinesia as well. In summary, PD motor symptoms may primarily be an allocentric disturbance resulting from virtual faulty computation by grid cells revealed by dopamine depletion in PD.
Collapse
|
3
|
González-Marrero I, Hernandez-Garcia JA, Gonzalez-Davila E, Carmona-Calero EM, Gonzalez-Toledo JM, Castañeyra-Ruiz L, Hernandez-Abad LG, Castañeyra-Perdomo A. Variations of the grid and place cells in the entorhinal cortex and dentate gyrus of 6 individuals aged 56 to 87 years. Neurologia 2021:S0213-4853(21)00118-3. [PMID: 34531045 DOI: 10.1016/j.nrl.2021.04.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2021] [Revised: 04/26/2021] [Accepted: 04/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The relationship between the entorhinal cortex and the hippocampus has been studied by different authors, who have highlighted the importance of grid cells, place cells, and the trisynaptic circuit in the processes that they regulate: the persistence of spatial, explicit, and recent memory and their possible impairment with ageing. OBJECTIVE We aimed to determine whether older age causes changes in the size and number of grid cells contained in layer III of the entorhinal cortex and in the granular layer of the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. METHODS We conducted post-mortem studies of the brains of 6 individuals aged 56-87 years. The brain sections containing the dentate gyrus and the adjacent entorhinal cortex were stained according to the Klüver-Barrera method, then the Image J software was used to measure the individual neuronal area, the total neuronal area, and the number of neurons contained in rectangular areas in layer III of the entorhinal cortex and layer II of the dentate gyrus. Statistical analysis was subsequently performed. RESULTS We observed an age-related reduction in the cell population of the external pyramidal layer of the entorhinal cortex, and in the number of neurons in the granular layer of the dentate gyrus. CONCLUSION Our results indicate that ageing causes a decrease in the size and density of grid cells of the entorhinal cortex and place cells of the dentate gyrus.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- I González-Marrero
- Unidad de Anatomía y Embriología Humana, Departamento de Ciencias Médicas Básicas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Islas Canaria, España
| | - J A Hernandez-Garcia
- Unidad de Anatomía y Embriología Humana, Departamento de Ciencias Médicas Básicas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Islas Canaria, España
| | - E Gonzalez-Davila
- Departamento de Matemáticas, Estadística e Investigación Operativa, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Islas Canaria, España
| | - E M Carmona-Calero
- Unidad de Anatomía y Embriología Humana, Departamento de Ciencias Médicas Básicas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Islas Canaria, España; Instituto de Investigación y Ciencias, Puerto del Rosario, Fuerteventura, Islas Canarias, España
| | - J M Gonzalez-Toledo
- Unidad de Anatomía y Embriología Humana, Departamento de Ciencias Médicas Básicas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Islas Canaria, España
| | - L Castañeyra-Ruiz
- Department of Neurological Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine and the St. Louis Children's Hospital, St. Louis, Missouri, Estados Unidos
| | - L G Hernandez-Abad
- Unidad de Anatomía y Embriología Humana, Departamento de Ciencias Médicas Básicas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Islas Canaria, España; Instituto de Investigación y Ciencias, Puerto del Rosario, Fuerteventura, Islas Canarias, España
| | - A Castañeyra-Perdomo
- Unidad de Anatomía y Embriología Humana, Departamento de Ciencias Médicas Básicas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Islas Canaria, España; Instituto de Investigación y Ciencias, Puerto del Rosario, Fuerteventura, Islas Canarias, España.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Ness N, Schultz SR. A computational grid-to-place-cell transformation model indicates a synaptic driver of place cell impairment in early-stage Alzheimer's Disease. PLoS Comput Biol 2021; 17:e1009115. [PMID: 34133417 PMCID: PMC8238223 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2020] [Revised: 06/28/2021] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is characterized by progressive neurodegeneration and cognitive impairment. Synaptic dysfunction is an established early symptom, which correlates strongly with cognitive decline, and is hypothesised to mediate the diverse neuronal network abnormalities observed in AD. However, how synaptic dysfunction contributes to network pathology and cognitive impairment in AD remains elusive. Here, we present a grid-cell-to-place-cell transformation model of long-term CA1 place cell dynamics to interrogate the effect of synaptic loss on network function and environmental representation. Synapse loss modelled after experimental observations in the APP/PS1 mouse model was found to induce firing rate alterations and place cell abnormalities that have previously been observed in AD mouse models, including enlarged place fields and lower across-session stability of place fields. Our results support the hypothesis that synaptic dysfunction underlies cognitive deficits, and demonstrate how impaired environmental representation may arise in the early stages of AD. We further propose that dysfunction of excitatory and inhibitory inputs to CA1 pyramidal cells may cause distinct impairments in place cell function, namely reduced stability and place map resolution.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Natalie Ness
- Centre for Neurotechnology and Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Simon R. Schultz
- Centre for Neurotechnology and Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|