We conclude that endogenous PKA activity in excitatory inspiratory preBötzinger neurons and phrenic premotor neurons, but not motor neurons, regulates

network inspiratory drive currents that underpin the intensity of phrenic nerve discharge. We show that inhibition of PKA activity reduces tonic glycinergic transmission that normally restrains the frequency of rhythmic signaling pathway respiratory activity. Finally, we suggest that the maintenance of the respiratory rhythm in vivo is not dependent on endogenous cAMP–PKA signalling. “
“Motor performance is profoundly influenced by sensory information, yet sensory input can be noisy and uncertain. The basal ganglia and the cerebellum are important in processing sensory uncertainty, as the basal ganglia incorporate the uncertainty of predictive reward cues to reinforce motor programs, and the cerebellum and its connections mitigate the effect of ambiguous sensory input on motor performance through the use of forward models. Although Parkinson’s

disease (PD) is classically considered a primary disease selleck of the basal ganglia, alterations in cerebellar activation are also observed, which may have consequences for the processing of sensory uncertainty. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of visual uncertainty on motor performance in 15 PD patients and ten age-matched control subjects. Subjects performed a visually guided tracking task, requiring large-amplitude arm movements, by tracking with their index finger a moving target along a smooth trajectory. To induce visual uncertainty, the target position randomly jittered about the desired trajectory with increasing amplitudes. Tracking error was related to target ambiguity to a significantly greater degree in PD subjects off medication compared with control subjects, indicative of susceptibility to visual uncertainty in PD. l-Dopa partially ameliorated this deficit. We interpret our findings as suggesting an

inability of PD subjects to create adequate forward models and/or de-weight less informative visual input. As these computations are normally associated with the cerebellum and connections, we suggest that alterations in normal cerebellar functioning may be a significant contributor to altered motor Doxacurium chloride performance in PD. “
“Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Center for Research and Development in Health Sciences, Madero y Dr. Aguirre Pequeño Col. Mitras Centro S/N. Monterrey, N.L., México Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma-coactivator-1 alpha (PGC1a) is involved in energy and lipid metabolism, and its loss leads to neurodegenerative changes in the striatum. Here we performed lipidomic analysis on brain extracts from PGC1a mutant and wild-type mice. We found increased phosphatidylcholine and decreased ceramides in the brain of PGC1a-deficient mice.