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National Institute for Physiological Sciences

4 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

Behavior

Neuro-rehabilitation Approach for Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Kenichi Sekiya^1,2, Munehisa Fukushima³, Henning Teismann^4,5, Lothar Lagemann⁴, Ryusuke Kakigi^1,6, Christo Pantev⁴, Hidehiko Okamoto^1,4,6

¹Department of Integrative Physiology, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, ²Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences and Medical School, ³Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Kansai Rosai Hospital, ⁴Institute for Biomagnetism and Biosignalanalysis, University of Muenster, ⁵Institute for Epidemiology and Social Medicine, University of Muenster, ⁶Sokendai Graduate University for Advanced Studies

This article reports the development of a neuro-rehabilitation approach, "constraint-induced sound therapy (CIST)" for sudden sensorineural hearing loss. The aim of CIST is to prevent maladaptive cortical reorganization by using an enriched acoustic environment. CIST represents a safe, easy, inexpensive, and effective approach to treat sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

Biology

Visualization of DNA Compaction in Cyanobacteria by High-voltage Cryo-electron Tomography

Kazuyoshi Murata¹, Yasuko Kaneko²

¹National Institute for Physiological Sciences, ²Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University

This protocol describes how to visualize the transient DNA compaction in cyanobacteria. Synchronous cultivation, monitoring by fluorescence microscopy, rapid freezing, and high voltage cryo-electron tomography are used. A protocol for these methodologies is presented, and future applications and developments are discussed.

Neuroscience

Cheek Injection Model for Simultaneous Measurement of Pain and Itch-related Behaviors

Yu Yamanoi^1,2,3,4, Hiroki Kittaka^1,2,5, Makoto Tominaga^1,2,3,6

¹Thermal Biology Group, Exploratory Research Center on Life and Living Systems (ExCELLS), ²Division of Cell Signaling, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, ³Department of Physiological Sciences, Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), ⁴Research Laboratory, Ikedamohando Co., Ltd., ⁵Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, ⁶Institute for Environmental and Gender-Specific Medicine, Juntendo University

Typically, the mouse neck injection model is used for evaluate pruritogen-induced scratch behaviors. However, the model provides information only on itch, not pain. Here, a cheek injection model is introduced in mice which can be used to simultaneously measure pain and itch-related behaviors.

Neuroscience

Spatiotemporal Analysis of Microglial Ca²⁺ Activity at Single-Cell Resolution

Hiroshi Horiuchi^1,2, Dennis Lawrence Cheung¹, Junichi Nabekura^1,2

¹Division of Homeostatic Development, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, ²Department of Physiological Sciences, SOKENDAI: the Graduate University for Advanced Studies

In this paper, we describe a protocol for in vivo imaging of microglial Ca²⁺ activity and subsequent analysis of its spatiotemporal dynamics. This method enables thorough characterization of how microglia respond to changes in the brain environment, appropriately capturing the fine spatiotemporal scales at which such events occur.