Brain inferior

Figure 9.1 The distribution of 5-HT neurons in the brain. The cell bodies are clustered in nuclei (B1-B7) in the pons/upper medullary regions of the brainstem. The rostral cluster ( superior group ) project mainly to forebrain areas while the caudal ( inferior ) group projects mainly to the medulla and spinal cord. Collectively, these neurons innervate most regions of the central nervous system...

The spinal cord is the most anatomically inferior portion of the CNS and its functions are at the lowest level of sophistication (see Table 6.1). As mentioned earlier, the spinal cord receives sensory input from the periphery of the body and contains the cell bodies of motor neurons responsible for voluntary and involuntary movements. Once again, the involuntary and neurologically simple reflexes are processed entirely at the level of the spinal cord. Voluntary, deliberate movements are initiated and controlled by thought processes in the cerebrum. The second important function of the spinal cord is to transmit nerve impulses to and from the brain. Ascending pathways carry sensory input to higher levels of the CNS and descending pathways carry impulses from the brain to motor neurons in the spinal cord. 

Figure 6.2 The location and distribution of the histamine-containing neurons in the brain. These neurons are localized in the tuberomammiUaiy nucleus within the posterior hypothalamus and send projections throughout the brain. Abbreviations Hi, hippocampus Hy, hypothalamus IC, inferior colliculus OB, olfactory bulb SC, superior colliculus SI, substantia innominata St, striatum TH, thalamus TMN, tuberomammillary nucleus. Adapted from Watanabe Yanai (2001).

Gansler DA, Harris GJ, Oscar-Berman M, Streeter C, Lewis RF, Ahmed I and Achong D (2000). Hypoperfusion of inferior frontal brain regions in abstinent alcoholics A pilot SPECT study. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 61, 32-37. 

A recent study showed significant increases of expression of eNOS in the brains of rats treated with pyrithia-mine [20]. Increased eNOS expression was apparent prior to the onset of neurological symptoms and was restricted to vulnerable medial thalamus and inferior colliculus. Expression of inducible (iNOS) and neuronal (nNOS) isoforms were minimally altered in brain in thiamine deficiency and it has also been shown that targeted disruption of the eNOS (but not the iNOS or nNOS) gene results in reduced extent of neuropathological damage in thalamus of thiamine deficient animals [21] (Fig. 34-5). 

Y. Noguchi, T. Takeuchi, and K. Sakai. Lateralized activation in the inferior frontal cortex during syntactic processing event-related optical topography study. Human Brain Mapping, 17 89-99, 2002. 

Lamprea MR, Cardenas FP, Vianna DM, Castilho VM, Cruz-Morales SE, Brandao ML (2002) The distribution of fos immimoreactivity in rat brain following freezing and escape responses elicited by electrical stimulation of the inferior colliculus. Brain Res 950 186-194 Lechner HA, Squire LR, Byrne JH (1999) 100 years of consolidation—remembering Muller and Pilzecker. Learn Mem 6 77-87... 

PAM crosses the blood-brain barrier with difficulty. 2-PAM in rat brain, 10 min after injection, is only about 5-12% of that in plasma higher percentages are in the more heavily vascularized areas, such as cerebral and cerebellar cortex and inferior colliculi.34 This low brain-to-blood ratio persists, but over the next 6 h the brain and blood come closer to equilibrium as the blood... 

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