The physiological conditions that swell mammalian neurons are clinically important but contentious. Distinguishing the neuronal component of brain swelling requires viewing intact neuronal cell bodies, dendrites, and axons and measuring their changing volume in real time. Cultured or dissociated neuronal somata swell within minutes under acutely overhydrated conditions and shrink when strongly dehydrated. But paradoxically, most central nervous system (CNS) neurons do not express aquaporins, the membrane channels that conduct osmotically driven water. Using 2-photon laser scanning microscopy (2PLSM), we monitored neuronal volume under osmotic stress in real time. Specifically, the volume of pyramidal neurons in cerebral cortex and axon terminals comprising cerebellar mossy fibers was measured deep within live brain slices. The expected swelling or shrinking of the gray matter was confirmed by recording altered light transmittance and by indirectly measuring extracellular resistance over a wide osmotic range of -80 to +80 milliOsmoles (mOsm). Neurons expressing green fluorescent protein were then imaged with 2PLSM between -40 and +80 mOsm over 20 min. Surprisingly, pyramidal somata, dendrites, and spines steadfastly maintained their volume, as did the cerebellar axon terminals. This precluded a need for the neurons to acutely regulate volume, preserved their intrinsic electrophysiological stability, and confirmed that these CNS nerve cells lack functional aquaporins. Thus, whereas water easily permeates the aquaporin-rich endothelia and glia driving osmotic brain swelling, neurons tenatiously maintain their volume. However, these same neurons then swell dramatically upon oxygen/glucose deprivation or [K+]0 elevation, so prolonged depolarization (as during stroke or seizure) apparently swells neurons by opening nonaquaporin channels to water.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder and a major medical problem. Here, we have investigated the impact of amyloid-␤ (A␤) oligomers, AD-related neurotoxins, in the brains of rats and adult nonhuman primates (cynomolgus macaques). Soluble A␤ oligomers are known to accumulate in the brains of AD patients and correlate with disease-associated cognitive dysfunction. When injected into the lateral ventricle of rats and macaques, A␤ oligomers diffused into the brain and accumulated in several regions associated with memory and cognitive functions. Cardinal features of AD pathology, including synapse loss, tau hyperphosphorylation, astrocyte and microglial activation, were observed in regions of the macaque brain where A␤ oligomers were abundantly detected. Most importantly, oligomer injections induced AD-type neurofibrillary tangle formation in the macaque brain. These outcomes were specifically associated with A␤ oligomers, as fibrillar amyloid deposits were not detected in oligomer-injected brains. Human and macaque brains share significant similarities in terms of overall architecture and functional networks. Thus, generation of a macaque model of AD that links A␤ oligomers to tau and synaptic pathology has the potential to greatly advance our understanding of mechanisms centrally implicated in AD pathogenesis. Furthermore, development of disease-modifying therapeutics for AD has been hampered by the difficulty in translating therapies that work in rodents to humans. This new approach may be a highly relevant nonhuman primate model for testing therapeutic interventions for AD.

No abstract

The orienting reflex is initiated by a salient stimulus and facilitates quick, appropriate action. It involves a rapid shift of the eyes, head, and attention and other physiological responses such as changes in heart rate and transient pupil dilation. The SC is a critical structure in the midbrain that selects incoming stimuli based on saliency and relevance to coordinate orienting behaviors, particularly gaze shifts, but its causal role in pupil dilation remains poorly understood in mammals. Here, we examined the role of the primate SC in the control of pupil dynamics. While requiring monkeys to keep their gaze fixed, we delivered weak electrical microstimulation to the SC, so that saccadic eye movements were not evoked. Pupil size increased transiently after microstimulation of the intermediate SC layers (SCi) and the size of evoked pupil dilation was larger on a dim versus bright background. In contrast, microstimulation of the superficial SC layers did not cause pupil dilation. Thus, the SCi is directly involved not only in shifts of gaze and attention, but also in pupil dilation as part of the orienting reflex, and the function of pupil dilation may be related to increasing visual sensitivity. The shared neural mechanisms suggest that pupil dilation may be associated with covert attention.