Biology subjects

Kolb, B.

Publications and source records attributed to Kolb, B..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2022

Functional recovery from tactile stimulation after perinatal cortical injury is mediated by FGF-2

The consequences of perinatal brain injury can be devastating but currently there are few effective treatments. We sought to determine if tactile stimulation (TS) or exogenous application of fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) following injury could reverse the behavioral loss. Infant rats received frontal cortex removals on postnatal day 4 (P4) or a sham surgery. The TS animals received thrice-daily 15-minute bouts of stimulation (Experiment 1) on the day following surgery until weaning. In Experiment 2, treated animals received subcutaneous injections of FGF-2 once daily for one week, postsurgery. Behavioral testing began on postnatal day 60. Brains were later processed for Golgi analysis. We show in Experiment 1, that tactilely stimulating infant rats with perinatal cortical injury stimulates functional recovery and reverses injury-related changes in neuronal morphology in the cerebral cortex. The TS induction of recovery is associated with changes in expression of FGF-2 in both the skin and brain. Direct administration of FGF-2 (Experiment 2) is also effective in facilitating recovery, although not as completely as TS. These results suggest that early behavioral intervention after perinatal cortical injury can stimulate plastic neuronal changes that can underlie functional recovery and that these changes are mediated, in part, through an upregulation of FGF-2.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2022

Tactile Stimulation Improves Cognition, Motor, and Anxiety-Like Behaviours and Attenuates the AD Pathology in Adult APP NL-G-F/NL-G-F mice

Alzheimers Disease (AD) is one of the largest health crises in the world. There are, however, limited but expensive pharmaceutical interventions to treat AD and most of the treatment options are not for cure or prevention, but to slow down the progression of the disease. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of tactile stimulation on AD-like symptoms and pathology in APP NL-G-F/NL-G-F mice, a mouse model of AD. The results show that tactile stimulation improves the AD-like symptoms on tests of cognition, motor, and anxiety-like behaviours and these improvements are associated with reduced AD pathology in APP mice.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2022

Early Tactile Stimulation Influences the Development of Alzheimer Disease in Gestationally Stressed APPNL-G-F/ NL-G-F Adult mice

Alzheimer Disease (AD) is associated with cerebral plaques and tangles, reduced synapse number, and shrinkage in several brain areas and these morphological effects are associated with the onset of compromised cognitive, motor, and anxiety-like behaviours. The focus of this study was to examine the effect of neonatal tactile stimulation on AD-like behavioural and neurological symptoms on APP NL-G-F/NL-G-F mice, a mouse model of AD. Our findings indicate that neonatal tactile stimulation improves cognition, motor skills, and anxiety-like symptoms in both gestationally stressed and non-stressed adult APP mice and that these alterations are associated with reduced A{beta} plaque formation. Thus, tactile stimulation appears to be a promising non-invasive preventative strategy for slowing the onset of dementia in aging animals.

neuroscience↗