• Title/Summary/Keyword: Synapse

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nArgBP2 as a hub molecule in the etiology of various neuropsychiatric disorders

  • Lee, Sang-Eun;Chang, Sunghoe
    • BMB Reports
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    • v.49 no.9
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    • pp.457-458
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    • 2016
  • Recent studies have strongly implicated postsynaptic scaffolding proteins such as SAPAP3 or Shank3 in the pathogenesis of various mood disorders, including autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder (BD), and obsessive-compulsive disorders. Neural Abelson-related gene-binding protein 2 (nArgBP2) was originally identified as a protein that interacts with SAPAP3 and Shank3. Recent study shows that the genetic deletion of nArgBP2 in mice leads to manic/bipolar-like behavior resembling symptoms of BD. However, the function of nArgBP2 at synapse, or its connection with the synaptic dysfunctions, is completely unknown. This study provides compelling evidence that nArgBP2 regulates the spine morphogenesis through the activation of Rac1/WAVE/PAK/cofilin pathway, and that its ablation causes a robust and selective inhibition of excitatory synapse formation, by controlling actin dynamics. Our results revealed the underlying mechanism for the synaptic dysfunction caused by nArgBP2 downregulation that associates with analogous human BD. Moreover, since nArgBP2 interacts with key proteins involved in various neuropsychiatric disorders, our finding implies that nArgBP2 could function as a hub linking various etiological factors of different mood disorders.

Implementation of Excitatory CMOS Neuron Oscillator for Robot Motion Control Unit

  • Lu, Jing;Yang, Jing;Kim, Yong-Bin;Ayers, Joseph;Kim, Kyung Ki
    • JSTS:Journal of Semiconductor Technology and Science
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    • v.14 no.4
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    • pp.383-390
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    • 2014
  • This paper presents an excitatory CMOS neuron oscillator circuit design, which can synchronize two neuron-bursting patterns. The excitatory CMOS neuron oscillator is composed of CMOS neurons and CMOS excitatory synapses. And the neurons and synapses are connected into a close loop. The CMOS neuron is based on the Hindmarsh-Rose (HR) neuron model and excitatory synapse is based on the chemical synapse model. In order to fabricate using a 0.18 um CMOS standard process technology with 1.8V compatible transistors, both time and amplitude scaling of HR neuron model is adopted. This full-chip integration minimizes the power consumption and circuit size, which is ideal for motion control unit of the proposed bio-mimetic micro-robot. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed excitatory CMOS neuron oscillator performs the expected waveforms with scaled time and amplitude. The active silicon area of the fabricated chip is $1.1mm^2$ including I/O pads.

Characterization of Multiple Synaptic Boutons in Cerebral Motor Cortex in Physiological and Pathological Condition: Acrobatic Motor Training Model and Traumatic Brain Injury Model

  • Kim, Hyun-Wook;Na, Ji eun;Rhyu, ImJoo
    • Applied Microscopy
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    • v.48 no.4
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    • pp.102-109
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    • 2018
  • Multiple synaptic boutons (MSBs) have been reported to be synapse with two or more postsynaptic terminals in one presynaptic terminal. These MSBs are known to be increased by various brain stimuli. In the motor cortex, increased number of MSB was observed in both acrobat training (AC) model and traumatic brain injury (TBI) model. Interestingly one is a physiological stimuli and the other is pathological insult. The purpose of this study is to compare the connectivity of MSBs between AC model and TBI model in the cerebral motor cortex, based on the hypothesis that the connectivity of MSBs might be different according to the models. The motor cortex was dissected from perfused brain of each experimental animal, the samples were prepared for routine transmission electron microscopy. The 60~70 serial sections were mounted on the one-hole grid and MSB was analyzed. The 3-dimensional analysis revealed that 94% of MSBs found in AC model synapse two postsynaptic spines from same dendrite. But, 28% MSBs from TBI models synapse two postsynaptic spines from different dendrite. This imply that the MSBs observed in motor cortex of AC model and TBI model might have different circuits for the processing the information.

A Review of RRAM-based Synaptic Device to Improve Neuromorphic Systems (뉴로모픽 시스템 향상을 위한 RRAM 기반 시냅스 소자 리뷰)

  • Park, Geon Woo;Kim, Jae Gyu;Choi, Geon Woo
    • Journal of the Semiconductor & Display Technology
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    • v.21 no.3
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    • pp.50-56
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    • 2022
  • In order to process a vast amount of data, there is demand for a new system with higher processing speed and lower energy consumption. To prevent 'memory wall' in von Neumann architecture, RRAM, which is a neuromorphic device, has been researched. In this paper, we summarize the features of RRAM and propose the device structure for characteristic improvement. RRAM operates as a synapse device using a change of resistance. In general, the resistance characteristics of RRAM are nonlinear and random. As synapse device, linearity and uniformity improvement of RRAM is important to improve learning recognition rate because high linearity and uniformity characteristics can achieve high recognition rate. There are many method, such as TEL, barrier layer, NC, high oxidation properties, to improve linearity and uniformity. We proposed a new device structure of TiN/Al doped TaOx/AlOx/Pt that will achieve high recognition rate. Also, with simulation, we prove that the improved properties show a high learning recognition rate.

A Simulation Study on Improvements of Speech Processing Strategy of Cochlear Implants Using Adaptation Effect of Inner Hair Cell and Auditory Nerve Synapse (청각신경 시냅스의 적응 효과를 이용한 인공와우 어음처리 알고리즘의 개선에 대한 시뮬레이션 연구)

  • Kim, Jin-Ho;Kim, Kyung-Hwan
    • Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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    • v.28 no.2
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    • pp.205-211
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    • 2007
  • A novel envelope extraction algorithm for speech processor of cochlear implants, called adaptation algorithm, was developed which is based on a adaptation effect of the inner hair cell(IHC)/auditory nerve(AN) synapse. We achieved acoustic simulation and hearing experiments with 12 normal hearing persons to compare this adaptation algorithm with existent standard envelope extraction method. The results shows that speech processing strategy using adaptation algorithm showed significant improvements in speech recognition rate under most channel/noise condition, compared to conventional strategy We verified that the proposed adaptation algorithm may yield better speech perception under considerable amount of noise, compared to the conventional speech processing strategy.

Molecular Mechanisms Governing IL-24 Gene Expression

  • Sahoo, Anupama;Im, Sin-Hyeog
    • IMMUNE NETWORK
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    • v.12 no.1
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    • pp.1-7
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    • 2012
  • Interleukin-24 (IL-24) belongs to the IL-10 family of cytokines and is well known for its tumor suppressor activity. This cytokine is released by both immune and nonimmune cells and acts on non-hematopoietic tissues such as skin, lung and reproductive tissues. Apart from its ubiquitous tumor suppressor function, IL-24 is also known to be involved in the immunopathology of autoimmune diseases like psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis. Although the cellular sources and functions of IL-24 are being increasingly investigated, the molecular mechanisms of IL-24 gene expression at the levels of signal transduction, epigenetics and transcription factor binding are still unclear. Understanding the specific molecular events that regulate the production of IL-24 will help to answer the remaining questions that are important for the design of new strategies of immune intervention involving IL-24. Herein, we briefly review the signaling pathways and transcription factors that facilitate, induce, or repress production of this cytokine along with the cellular sources and functions of IL-24.

Neolignan Derivatives from the Flower of Magnolia biondii Pamp. and their Effects on IL-2 expression in T-cells

  • Nguyen, Thi Tuyet Mai;Nguyen, Thi Thu;Lee, Hyun-Su;Jun, Chang-Duk;Min, Byung Sun;Kim, Jeong Ah
    • Natural Product Sciences
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    • v.23 no.2
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    • pp.119-124
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    • 2017
  • The isolation of the MeOH extract from the flower bud of Magnolia biondii Pamp. using various column chromatographies and HPLC led to eleven neoglignan derivatives (1 - 11). Their structures were mainly determined by 1D and 2D NMR spectral data analysis and physiological methods. The isolated compounds (1 - 11) were tested for anti-allergic effects using IL-2 inhibitory assay in Jurkat T cells.

Nonlinear Function Approximation of Moduled Neural Network Using Genetic Algorithm (유전 알고리즘을 이용한 모듈화된 신경망의 비선형 함수 근사화)

  • 박현철;김성주;김종수;서재용;전홍태
    • Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Intelligent Systems Conference
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    • 2001.12a
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    • pp.10-13
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    • 2001
  • Nonlinear Function Approximation of Moduled Neural Network Using Genetic Algorithm Neural Network consists of neuron and synapse. Synapse memorize last pattern and study new pattern. When Neural Network learn new pattern, it tend to forget previously learned pattern. This phenomenon is called to catastrophic inference or catastrophic forgetting. To overcome this phenomenon, Neural Network must be modularized. In this paper, we propose Moduled Neural Network. Modular Neural Network consists of two Neural Network. Each Network individually study different pattern and their outputs is finally summed by net function. Sometimes Neural Network don't find global minimum, but find local minimum. To find global minimum we use Genetic Algorithm.

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Phagocytic Roles of Glial Cells in Healthy and Diseased Brains

  • Jung, Yeon-Joo;Chung, Won-Suk
    • Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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    • v.26 no.4
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    • pp.350-357
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    • 2018
  • Glial cells are receiving much attention since they have been recognized as important regulators of many aspects of brain function and disease. Recent evidence has revealed that two different glial cells, astrocytes and microglia, control synapse elimination under normal and pathological conditions via phagocytosis. Astrocytes use the MEGF10 and MERTK phagocytic pathways, and microglia use the classical complement pathway to recognize and eliminate unwanted synapses. Notably, glial phagocytosis also contributes to the clearance of disease-specific protein aggregates, such as ${\beta}$-amyloid, huntingtin, and ${\alpha}$-synuclein. Here we reivew recent findings showing that glial cells are active regulators in brain functions through phagocytosis and that changes in glial phagocytosis contribute to the pathogenesis of various neurodegenerative diseases. A better understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms of glial phagocytosis in healthy and diseased brains will greatly improve our current approach in treating these diseases.