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Castañeyra-Perdomo A, Gonzalez-Mora JL, Carmona-Calero EM, Makris N, Carrasco-Juan JL. A Narrative Review on the Clinical Relevance of Imaging the Circumventricular Brain Organs and Performing Their Anatomical and Histopathological Examination in Acute and Postacute COVID-19. Am J Forensic Med Pathol 2024; 45:151-156. [PMID: 38739896 DOI: 10.1097/paf.0000000000000939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2024]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Autopsy followed by histopathological examination is foundational in clinical and forensic medicine for discovering and understanding pathological changes in disease, their underlying processes, and cause of death. Imaging technology has become increasingly important for advancing clinical research and practice, given its noninvasive, in vivo and ex vivo applicability. Medical and forensic autopsy can benefit greatly from advances in imaging technology that lead toward minimally invasive, whole-brain virtual autopsy. Brain autopsy followed by histopathological examination is still the hallmark for understanding disease and a fundamental modus operandi in forensic pathology and forensic medicine, despite the fact that its practice has become progressively less frequent in medical settings. This situation is especially relevant with respect to new diseases such as COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, for which our neuroanatomical knowledge is sparse. In this narrative review, we show that ad hoc clinical autopsies and histopathological analyses combined with neuroimaging of the principal circumventricular organs are critical to gaining insight into the reconstruction of the pathophysiological mechanisms and the explanation of cause of death (ie, atrium mortis) related to the cardiovascular effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection in forensic and clinical medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agustin Castañeyra-Perdomo
- From the Universidad de La Laguna, Área de Anatomía y Fisiología, Departamento de Ciencias Médicas Básicas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, San Cristobal de la Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
| | - Jose Luis Gonzalez-Mora
- From the Universidad de La Laguna, Área de Anatomía y Fisiología, Departamento de Ciencias Médicas Básicas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, San Cristobal de la Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
| | - Emilia Maria Carmona-Calero
- From the Universidad de La Laguna, Área de Anatomía y Fisiología, Departamento de Ciencias Médicas Básicas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, San Cristobal de la Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
| | - Nikos Makris
- Center for Morphometric Analysis, Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology, A.A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - Jose Luis Carrasco-Juan
- Universidad de La Laguna, Área de Histología, Departamento de Ciencias Médicas Básicas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, San Cristobal de la Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
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Ragozzino FJ, Karatsoreos IN, Peters JH. Principles of synaptic encoding of brainstem circadian rhythms. Exp Physiol 2024. [PMID: 38308846 DOI: 10.1113/ep090867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 02/05/2024]
Abstract
Circadian regulation of autonomic tone and reflex pathways pairs physiological processes with the daily light cycle. However, the underlying mechanisms mediating these changes on autonomic neurocircuitry are only beginning to be understood. The brainstem nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) and adjacent nuclei, including the area postrema and dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus, are key candidates for rhythmic control of some aspects of the autonomic nervous system. Recent findings have contributed to a working model of circadian regulation in the brainstem which manifests from the transcriptional, to synaptic, to circuit levels of organization. Vagal afferent neurons and the NTS possess rhythmic clock gene expression, rhythmic action potential firing, and our recent findings demonstrate rhythmic spontaneous glutamate release. In addition, postsynaptic conductances also vary across the day producing subtle changes in membrane depolarization which govern synaptic efficacy. Together these coordinated pre- and postsynaptic changes provide nuanced control of synaptic transmission across the day to tune the sensitivity of primary afferent input and likely govern reflex output. Further, given the important role for the brainstem in integrating cues such as feeding, cardiovascular function and temperature, it may also be an underappreciated locus in mediating the effects of such non-photic entraining cues. This short review focuses on the neurophysiological principles that govern NTS synaptic transmission and how circadian rhythms impacted them across the day.
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Affiliation(s)
- Forrest J Ragozzino
- Department of Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA
| | - Ilia N Karatsoreos
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
| | - James H Peters
- Department of Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA
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Myung J, Hong S, Schmal C, Vitet H, Wu MY. Weak synchronization can alter circadian period length: implications for aging and disease conditions. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1242800. [PMID: 37829718 PMCID: PMC10564985 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1242800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2023] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 10/14/2023] Open
Abstract
The synchronization of multiple oscillators serves as the central mechanism for maintaining stable circadian rhythms in physiology and behavior. Aging and disease can disrupt synchronization, leading to changes in the periodicity of circadian activities. While our understanding of the circadian clock under synchronization has advanced significantly, less is known about its behavior outside synchronization, which can also fall within a predictable domain. These states not only impact the stability of the rhythms but also modulate the period length. In C57BL/6 mice, aging, diseases, and removal of peripheral circadian oscillators often result in lengthened behavioral circadian periods. Here, we show that these changes can be explained by a surprisingly simple mathematical relationship: the frequency is the reciprocal of the period, and its distribution becomes skewed when the period distribution is symmetric. The synchronized frequency of a population in the skewed distribution and the macroscopic frequency of combined oscillators differ, accounting for some of the atypical circadian period outputs observed in networks without synchronization. Building on this finding, we investigate the dynamics of circadian outputs in the context of aging and disease, where synchronization is weakened.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jihwan Myung
- Graduate Institute of Mind, Brain and Consciousness (GIMBC), Taipei Medical University, Taipei City, Taiwan
- Brain and Consciousness Research Centre (BCRC), TMU-Shuang Ho Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan
- Computational Neuroscience Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Okinawa, Japan
| | - Sungho Hong
- Computational Neuroscience Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Okinawa, Japan
| | - Christoph Schmal
- Institute for Theoretical Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Hélène Vitet
- Graduate Institute of Mind, Brain and Consciousness (GIMBC), Taipei Medical University, Taipei City, Taiwan
- Brain and Consciousness Research Centre (BCRC), TMU-Shuang Ho Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan
- Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan City, Taiwan
| | - Mei-Yi Wu
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Taipei Medical University-Shuang Ho Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
- TMU Research Center of Urology and Kidney, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
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