| Budget Amount *help |
¥48,100,000 (Direct Cost: ¥37,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥11,100,000)
Fiscal Year 2014: ¥8,320,000 (Direct Cost: ¥6,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,920,000)
Fiscal Year 2013: ¥9,100,000 (Direct Cost: ¥7,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥2,100,000)
Fiscal Year 2012: ¥15,080,000 (Direct Cost: ¥11,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥3,480,000)
Fiscal Year 2011: ¥15,600,000 (Direct Cost: ¥12,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥3,600,000)
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is one of the novel methods for treatment-resistant epilepsy. The mechanisms of VNS have not been fully understood. In this work, we used in vitro reconstruction systems. Brainstem neurons (locus ceruleus; LC, dorsal raphe nucleus; DR) were taken from newborn Wistar rats and cultured with hippocampal neurons on microelectrode-array (MEA) substrates. It is well-known that hippocampal neurons generate synchronized bursts in vitro. The spatio-temporal patterns of the activity were modified by application of norepinephrine, which was the principal neurotransmitter of LC neurons. Asynchronous spontaneous activity was observed in both LC and DR neuronal cultures. The synchronized activity of hippocampal neurons were slightly reduced in co-cultures with brainstem neurons. The next step is application of electrical stimulation to brainstem neurons to find most efficient VNS conditions.
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