Italian Journal of Neurological Sciences, Apr 1, 1995
Information processing streams that proceed through the sensory unimodal and multimodal areas of ... more Information processing streams that proceed through the sensory unimodal and multimodal areas of the cerebral cortex, and hence the limbic system, bring from perception to memory. This itinerary through the neural networks underlying perception and cognition is briefly outlined through famous passages from Marcel Proust's "Swann's Way", in which the flavour of the "petites madeleines" triggers vivid recollection.
The lizard tail regenerates after autotomy or amputation. After horseradish peroxidase injections... more The lizard tail regenerates after autotomy or amputation. After horseradish peroxidase injections in the regenerate, motoneurons were retrogradely labeled only in the three spinal segments rostral to the amputation, whose spinal nerves are severed by tail loss. The changes in these motoneurons, compared to those of lizards with original intact tails, were investigated 5, 15, and 30 days after caudotomy and at 8 months in lizards with mature regenerates. Morphometric analysis of Nissl-stained motoneurons rostral to the amputation revealed marked hypertrophy, peaking at 15 days, when chromatolysis and nuclear eccentricity were also evident; motoneuron perikarya remained significantly larger than in controls after tail regeneration. The dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) stain for apoptotic neurons did not reveal labeled cells in the spinal cord 5 and 15 days after caudotomy. Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) expression was studied with nicotinamide adenine-dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH)-diaphorase histochemistry and evaluated quantitatively with densitometry. A few caudal spinal motoneurons were lightly stained in lizards with intact tails. Induction of NADPH-diaphorase positivity was evident in the vast majority of these cells 5 days after caudotomy and was very marked at 15 and 30 days, during tail regrowth. These data were confirmed by neuronal NOS immunohistochemistry. After tail regeneration, histochemical positivity was markedly down-regulated in the tail spinal motoneurons but persisted in the majority of these cells. The findings show that in the lizard caudotomy elicits in axotomized caudal spinal motoneurons NOS induction associated with plasticity phenomena and in particular with vigorous regeneration of axons that innervate the regrowing tail.
... However, you may be able to access this article under your organization's agreement with... more ... However, you may be able to access this article under your organization's agreement with Elsevier. Marina Bentivoglio a , Giancarlo Balercia a and Lawrence Kruger 1 , a. a Institute of Anatomy, University of Verona, Strada Le Grazie, 37134 Verona, Italy. ...
Cellular and Molecular Methods in Neuroscience Research, 2002
ABSTRACT Tract tracing techniques provide tools for the study of the termination or origin of cen... more ABSTRACT Tract tracing techniques provide tools for the study of the termination or origin of central neural pathways or peripheral nerves. The understanding of the organization of neural circuits has represented one of the major goals in neuroscience since its birth. In the second half of the 19th century, the pioneers in tract tracing discovered that retrograde degeneration of neuronal cell bodies and anterograde degeneration of fibers could be used to trace pathways in the nervous system. Thus, “the earliest way to identify the neurons sending their axons to a given neural structure was to destroy the structure” (20). In addition, the Golgi method, which impregnates random subsets of neuronal cell bodies and processes in their entirety, played a crucial role not only in unraveling the basic structure of the nervous system, but also in pioneering investigations on its connectivity. Cajal’s seminal studies on the wiring of the nervous system were in fact based on Golgi-impregnated material (5). It is very hard, however, to effectively impregnate the axons and to reconstruct their trajectory over long distances with the Golgi staining. This techconnections, i.e., at a limited distance from the cell body.
The occurrence of thalamic projections to the contralateral side of the thalamus, and the origin ... more The occurrence of thalamic projections to the contralateral side of the thalamus, and the origin of these projections from the thalamic reticular nucleus, were demonstrated with fluorescent retrograde tracing. After a relatively large tracer injection in the anterior third of the thalamus (involving the reticular, anterior, intralaminar and ventrolateral nuclei), labeled cells were detected in the rostral portion of the contralateral reticular nucleus. The location within the reticular nucleus of the neurons retrogradely labeled in the contralateral thalamus was confirmed by means of the combination of tracing with immunocytochemistry, using antibodies against the calcium binding protein parvalbumin.
The chapter provides an itinerary of knowledge on nervous system anatomy as one of the pillars of... more The chapter provides an itinerary of knowledge on nervous system anatomy as one of the pillars of clinical neurology. The journey starts from the Renaissance explosion on the approach to the human body, its functions and its diseases, dealing with the seminal contributions of Leonardo da Vinci and Vesalius. The itinerary proceeds through the contributions of the 17th century, especially by Thomas Willis and the pioneering investigations of Marcello Malpighi and Antony van Leeuwenhoek, and onto the 18th century. The itinerary thus leads to the progress from gross anatomy to the microscopic investigation of the nervous system in the 19th century: the reticular theories, the revolution of the neural doctrine and their protagonists (Camillo Golgi and Santiago Ramón y Cajal), which initiated the modern era of the neurosciences. The chapter also includes sections on the contributions of developmental neuroanatomy to neurology, on the history of tract tracing, and on the cytoarchitecture of the cerebral cortex. The never-ending story of the anatomical foundations of clinical neurology continues to evolve at the dawn of the 21st century, including knowledge that guides deep brain stimulation, and novel approaches to the anatomy of the living brain based on rapidly developing neuroimaging technology.
Italian Journal of Neurological Sciences, Apr 1, 1995
Information processing streams that proceed through the sensory unimodal and multimodal areas of ... more Information processing streams that proceed through the sensory unimodal and multimodal areas of the cerebral cortex, and hence the limbic system, bring from perception to memory. This itinerary through the neural networks underlying perception and cognition is briefly outlined through famous passages from Marcel Proust's "Swann's Way", in which the flavour of the "petites madeleines" triggers vivid recollection.
The lizard tail regenerates after autotomy or amputation. After horseradish peroxidase injections... more The lizard tail regenerates after autotomy or amputation. After horseradish peroxidase injections in the regenerate, motoneurons were retrogradely labeled only in the three spinal segments rostral to the amputation, whose spinal nerves are severed by tail loss. The changes in these motoneurons, compared to those of lizards with original intact tails, were investigated 5, 15, and 30 days after caudotomy and at 8 months in lizards with mature regenerates. Morphometric analysis of Nissl-stained motoneurons rostral to the amputation revealed marked hypertrophy, peaking at 15 days, when chromatolysis and nuclear eccentricity were also evident; motoneuron perikarya remained significantly larger than in controls after tail regeneration. The dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) stain for apoptotic neurons did not reveal labeled cells in the spinal cord 5 and 15 days after caudotomy. Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) expression was studied with nicotinamide adenine-dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH)-diaphorase histochemistry and evaluated quantitatively with densitometry. A few caudal spinal motoneurons were lightly stained in lizards with intact tails. Induction of NADPH-diaphorase positivity was evident in the vast majority of these cells 5 days after caudotomy and was very marked at 15 and 30 days, during tail regrowth. These data were confirmed by neuronal NOS immunohistochemistry. After tail regeneration, histochemical positivity was markedly down-regulated in the tail spinal motoneurons but persisted in the majority of these cells. The findings show that in the lizard caudotomy elicits in axotomized caudal spinal motoneurons NOS induction associated with plasticity phenomena and in particular with vigorous regeneration of axons that innervate the regrowing tail.
... However, you may be able to access this article under your organization's agreement with... more ... However, you may be able to access this article under your organization's agreement with Elsevier. Marina Bentivoglio a , Giancarlo Balercia a and Lawrence Kruger 1 , a. a Institute of Anatomy, University of Verona, Strada Le Grazie, 37134 Verona, Italy. ...
Cellular and Molecular Methods in Neuroscience Research, 2002
ABSTRACT Tract tracing techniques provide tools for the study of the termination or origin of cen... more ABSTRACT Tract tracing techniques provide tools for the study of the termination or origin of central neural pathways or peripheral nerves. The understanding of the organization of neural circuits has represented one of the major goals in neuroscience since its birth. In the second half of the 19th century, the pioneers in tract tracing discovered that retrograde degeneration of neuronal cell bodies and anterograde degeneration of fibers could be used to trace pathways in the nervous system. Thus, “the earliest way to identify the neurons sending their axons to a given neural structure was to destroy the structure” (20). In addition, the Golgi method, which impregnates random subsets of neuronal cell bodies and processes in their entirety, played a crucial role not only in unraveling the basic structure of the nervous system, but also in pioneering investigations on its connectivity. Cajal’s seminal studies on the wiring of the nervous system were in fact based on Golgi-impregnated material (5). It is very hard, however, to effectively impregnate the axons and to reconstruct their trajectory over long distances with the Golgi staining. This techconnections, i.e., at a limited distance from the cell body.
The occurrence of thalamic projections to the contralateral side of the thalamus, and the origin ... more The occurrence of thalamic projections to the contralateral side of the thalamus, and the origin of these projections from the thalamic reticular nucleus, were demonstrated with fluorescent retrograde tracing. After a relatively large tracer injection in the anterior third of the thalamus (involving the reticular, anterior, intralaminar and ventrolateral nuclei), labeled cells were detected in the rostral portion of the contralateral reticular nucleus. The location within the reticular nucleus of the neurons retrogradely labeled in the contralateral thalamus was confirmed by means of the combination of tracing with immunocytochemistry, using antibodies against the calcium binding protein parvalbumin.
The chapter provides an itinerary of knowledge on nervous system anatomy as one of the pillars of... more The chapter provides an itinerary of knowledge on nervous system anatomy as one of the pillars of clinical neurology. The journey starts from the Renaissance explosion on the approach to the human body, its functions and its diseases, dealing with the seminal contributions of Leonardo da Vinci and Vesalius. The itinerary proceeds through the contributions of the 17th century, especially by Thomas Willis and the pioneering investigations of Marcello Malpighi and Antony van Leeuwenhoek, and onto the 18th century. The itinerary thus leads to the progress from gross anatomy to the microscopic investigation of the nervous system in the 19th century: the reticular theories, the revolution of the neural doctrine and their protagonists (Camillo Golgi and Santiago Ramón y Cajal), which initiated the modern era of the neurosciences. The chapter also includes sections on the contributions of developmental neuroanatomy to neurology, on the history of tract tracing, and on the cytoarchitecture of the cerebral cortex. The never-ending story of the anatomical foundations of clinical neurology continues to evolve at the dawn of the 21st century, including knowledge that guides deep brain stimulation, and novel approaches to the anatomy of the living brain based on rapidly developing neuroimaging technology.
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papers by Marina Bentivoglio