Center for Translational Neuroscience (CTN), University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas.
J Neurosci Res. 2019 Dec;97(12):1515-1520. doi: 10.1002/jnr.24417. Epub 2019 Mar 27.
Four major discoveries on the function of the pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN) have significantly advanced our understanding of the role of arousal in neurodegenerative disorders. The first was the finding that stimulation of the PPN-induced controlled locomotion on a treadmill in decerebrate animals, the second was the revelation of electrical coupling in the PPN and other arousal and sleep-wake control regions, the third was the determination of intrinsic gamma band oscillations in PPN neurons, and the last was the discovery of gene transcription resulting from the manifestation of gamma activity in the PPN. These discoveries have led to novel therapies such as PPN deep brain stimulation (DBS) for Parkinson's disease (PD), identified the mechanism of action of the stimulant modafinil, determined the presence of separate mechanisms underlying gamma activity during waking versus REM sleep, and revealed the presence of gene transcription during the manifestation of gamma band oscillations. These discoveries set the stage for additional major advances in the treatment of a number of disorders.
四项关于脑桥被盖核（PPN）功能的重大发现，极大地促进了我们对觉醒在神经退行性疾病中的作用的理解。第一个发现是刺激 PPN 可诱导去大脑动物在跑步机上进行受控的运动，第二个发现是揭示了 PPN 与其他觉醒和睡眠-觉醒控制区域之间的电耦合，第三个发现是确定了 PPN 神经元中的内在伽马波段振荡，第四个发现是发现了由于 PPN 中的伽马活动表现而导致的基因转录。这些发现带来了新的治疗方法，例如帕金森病（PD）的 PPN 深部脑刺激（DBS），确定了兴奋剂莫达非尼的作用机制，确定了在清醒和 REM 睡眠期间，伽马活动的基础存在不同的机制，以及揭示了在表现出伽马波段振荡时存在基因转录。这些发现为治疗多种疾病的进一步重大进展奠定了基础。
