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Browsing Datos de Investigación by browse.metadata.contributordepartment "Anatomía Humana y Psicobiología"
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- PublicationOpen AccessAtypical course of the habenulo-interpeduncular tract in chick embryos(Wiley, 2024-07-30) Ferrán Bertone, José Luis; Puelles López, Luis; Anatomía Humana y Psicobiología; Facultad de MedicinaClassical studies of the avian diencephalon hardly mention the habenulo-interpeduncular tract (a.k.a. retroflex tract), although both the habenula (HB) (its origin) and the interpeduncular nuclear complex (its target) are present. Retroflex tract fibers were described at early embryonic stages but seem absent in the adult in routine stains. However, this tract is a salient diencephalic landmark in all other vertebrate lineages. It typically emerges out of the caudal HB, courses dorsoventrally across thalamic alar and basal plates just in front of the thalamo-pretectal boundary, and then sharply bends 90◦ caudalwards at paramedian basal plate levels (this is the “retroflexion”), to approach longitudinally via paramedian pretectum and midbrain the rostralmost hindbrain, specifically the prepontine median interpeduncular complex across isthmus and rhombomere 1. We systematize this habenulointerpeduncular course into four parts named subhabenular, retrothalamic, tegmental, and interpeduncular. We reexamined the chicken habenulo-interpeduncular fibers at stages HH30 and HH35 (6.5- and 9-day incubation) by mapping them specifically with immunoreaction for BEN protein, a well-known marker. We found that only a small fraction of the stained retroflex tract fibers approaches the basal plate by coursing along the standard dorsoventral pathway in front of the thalamo-pretectal boundary. Many other habenular fibers instead diverge into atypical dispersed courses across the thalamic cellmass (implying alteration of the first subhabenular part of the standard course) before reaching the basal plate; this dispersion explains their invisibility. A significant number of such transthalamic habenular fibers cross orthogonally the zona limitans (ZLI) (the rostral thalamic boundary) and invade the caudal alar prethalamus. Here, they immediately descend dorsoventrally, just rostrally to the ZLI, until reaching the prethalamic basal plate, where they bend (retroflex) caudalwards, entering the thalamic basal paramedian area. These atypical fibers gradually fasciculate with the other groups of habenular efferent fibers in their final longitudinal approach to the hindbrain interpeduncular complex.We conclude that the poor visibility of this tract in birds is due to its dispersion into a diversity of atypical alternative routes, though all components eventually reach the interpeduncular complex. This case merits further analysis of the diverse permissive versus nonpermissive guidance mechanisms called into action, which partially correlate distinctly with successive diencephalic, mesencephalic, and hindbrain neuromeric fields and their boundaries.
PublicationOpen AccessData base: Estudio satisfacción. Uso de gamificación en docencia de Anatomía humana (encuestas)López González, Laura; Anatomía Humana y Psicobiología; Facultad de Medicina- PublicationRestrictedElucidating the neuromeric organization of the Mongolian gerbil brain(Springer, 2025-11-04) Lucero-Arteaga, F.; Labegorra, S.; Abrego-Álvarez, A.; Heck, V.; Portu, A. I.; Boeris, M. A.; Alonso Fuentes, Antonia; Ribeiro do Couto, Bruno; García-Cabezas, M. Á.; Tseng, K. Y.; Ferrán Bertone, José Luis; Anatomía Humana y Psicobiología; Facultad de MedicinaThe Mongolian Gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus) diverged from rats/mice around 45 million years ago and developed adaptations to extreme temperatures and water scarcity. Another feature of the Mongolian Gerbils is their social monogamy similar to that of prairie voles. These observations suggest that there are potential differences in the Mongolian Gerbil brain that are distinct from that of rats and mice. The goal of the present study is to establish the extent to which the neuromeric organization of the brain is conserved in the Mongolian Gerbil and to gain insights on how evolutionary expansion and diversification of brain regions occur across species. Our data shows that the multineuromeric origin of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive processes in the Mongolian Gerbil is similar to that in mice and rats, spanning from the diencephalon, midbrain, and the rostral hindbrain. There are also observable anatomical differences. However, most of the components characteristic of these neuromeres are identifiable in the Mongolian gerbil, closely mirroring those found in mice and rats. Together, these findings suggest that the conserved neuromeric organization likely stems from a restricted genetic toolset that began in the Muridae family 45 million years ago, and that a profound reorganization of the fundamental structural plan delineating the neuromeric segmentation is not required for the emergence of diverse functionality among species of phylogenetically related families. Future studies are needed to establish how the genetic programs within each neuromeric unit are influenced by environmental factors that ultimately impact the size of the neuromeric derivatives and their functional connectivity.
- PublicationOpen AccessHeritability of sleep quality in a middle-aged twin sample from Spain(2018) Gregory, Alice M.; Madrid Valero, Juan José; Martínez Selva, José María; Ordoñana Martín, Juan Ramón; Sánchez Romera, Juan Francisco; Anatomía Humana y PsicobiologíaStudy objectives: Sleep quality is associated with health throughout the life span, which is particularly salient in middle-age and older adulthood. Sleep quality appears to be influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. However, there is still limited information about genetic influences on sleep quality in middle-aged adults, and particularly in those from certain geographical locations. We estimated the magnitude of genetic and environmental influences on sleep quality in a representative sample of middle-aged Spanish twins. Methods: The sample comprised 2150 individuals born between 1939 and 1966, who participate in the Murcia Twin Registry. In order to estimate the heritability of sleep quality variables we performed univariate analyses for the global score on the Pittsburgh sleep quality index and for each of its components. Results: We found moderate but significant heritability (34%) for sleep quality. The genetic variance of the components of the Pittsburgh index ranged from 30% to 45%, except for sleep efficiency for which no genetic influence could be detected. In summary, there was a moderate genetic influence on most dimensions of sleep quality in a sample of adult male and female twins. Shared environment influences were not found. Conclusions: This study adds new information regarding the underlying determinants of sleep quality by providing heritability estimates in a middle-aged population-based representative sample from a geographical location that has not been included in studies of this type previously. This could provide a reference point for future research regarding sleep research in middle-age.
- PublicationOpen AccessMulti-neuromeric origin of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive neurons within the substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area(Frontiers Media, 2025-05-30) Ferrán Bertone, José Luis; Lucero-Arteaga, Franco; Ayad, Abdelmalik; Kutsenko Shchegolska, Yevheniy; Alonso Fuentes, Antonia; Ribeiro do Couto, Bruno; García-Cabezas, M.Á.; Tseng, Kuei Y.; Anatomía Humana y Psicobiología; Facultad de MedicinaDuring early developmental stages, the brain is divided into three primary regions: the forebrain (prosencephalon), the hindbrain (rhombencephalon), and the spinal cord. These regions are further segmented into transverse units called neuromeres, each with distinct molecular identities that guide their specialization through development. Such modular organization is evolutionarily conserved and shapes the structural and functional complexity of the brain. The substantia nigra (SN) and ventral tegmental area (VTA) are key midbrain regions involved in reward, motivation, and motor control. They contain dopamine-producing tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-positive neurons, which are historically classified into three anatomical groups—A8 (retrorubral field), A9 (SN pars compacta), and A10 (VTA)—each with distinct anatomical and functional properties. Recent studies revealed further sub-regional organization along medial-lateral and anterior–posterior gradients, suggesting specialized roles tied to their developmental origins. This study uses the prosomeric framework to map the segmental distribution of TH-positive neurons within the SN and VTA across different mammalian species and developmental stages. Using a comparative analysis of rodent, non-human primate and human specimens, we were able to demonstrate that TH-positive neurons within the SN and VTA exhibit a multi-neuromeric organization, with neuronal populations distributed across the diencephalic prosomeres (dp1-dp3), the midbrain prosomeres (mp1-mp2) and the isthmic rhombomere (r0). It is therefore conceivable that such multi-neuromeric origin of TH-positive neurons within the SN and VTA likely influence the patterns of connectivity and functional specialization of the dopamine system.
- PublicationOpen AccessProsomeric hypothalamic distribution of tyrosine hydroxylase positive cells in adolescent rats(Frontiers Media, 2022-05-06) Bilbao, María G.; Garrigos, Daniel; Martínez Morga, Marta; Toval, Ángel; Kutsenko Shchegolska, Yevheniy; Bautista, Rosario; Barreda, Alberto; Ribeiro do Couto, Bruno; Puelles López, Luis; Ferrán Bertone, José Luis; Anatomía Humana y PsicobiologíaMost of the studies on neurochemical mapping, connectivity, and physiology in the hypothalamic region were carried out in rats and under the columnar morphologic paradigm. According to the columnar model, the entire hypothalamic region lies ventrally within the diencephalon, which includes preoptic, anterior, tuberal, and mamillary anteroposterior regions, and sometimes identifying dorsal, intermediate, and ventral hypothalamic partitions. This model is weak in providing little or no experimentally corroborated causal explanation of such subdivisions. In contrast, the modern prosomeric model uses different axial assumptions based on the parallel courses of the brain floor, alar-basal boundary, and brain roof (all causally explained). This model also postulates that the hypothalamus and telencephalon jointly form the secondary prosencephalon, separately from and rostral to the diencephalon proper. The hypothalamus is divided into two neuromeric (transverse) parts called peduncular and terminal hypothalamus (PHy and THy). The classic anteroposterior (AP) divisions of the columnar hypothalamus are rather seen as dorsoventral subdivisions of the hypothalamic alar and basal plates. In this study, we offered a prosomeric immunohistochemical mapping in the rat of hypothalamic cells expressing tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), which is the enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of L-tyrosine to levodopa (L-DOPA) and a precursor of dopamine. This mapping was also combined with markers for diverse hypothalamic nuclei [agouti-related peptide (Agrp), arginine vasopressin (Avp), cocaine and amphetamine-regulated transcript (Cart), corticotropin releasing Hormone (Crh), melanin concentrating hormone (Mch), neuropeptide Y (Npy), oxytocin/neurophysin I (Oxt), proopiomelanocortin (Pomc), somatostatin (Sst), tyrosine hidroxilase (Th), and thyrotropin releasing hormone (Trh)]. TH-positive cells are particularly abundant within the periventricular stratum of the paraventricular and subparaventricular alar domains. In the tuberal region, most labeled cells are found in the acroterminal arcuate nucleus and in the terminal periventricular stratum. The dorsal retrotuberal region (PHy) contains the A13 cell group of TH-positive cells. In addition, some TH cells appear in the perimamillary and retromamillary regions. The prosomeric model proved useful for determining the precise location of TH-positive cells relative to possible origins of morphogenetic signals, thus aiding potential causal explanation of position-related specification of this hypothalamic cell type.
- PublicationOpen AccessSex‑dependent effects of forced exercise in the body composition of adolescent rats(Nature Research, 2021-05-12) Kutsenko Shchegolska, Yevheniy; Barreda, A.; Toval Sánchez, José Ángel; Garrigos, D.; Martínez Morga, Marta; Ribeiro do Couto, Bruno; Ferrán Bertone, José Luis; Anatomía Humana y Psicobiología; Facultad de MedicinaDetermining the body composition during adolescence can predict diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndromes later in life; and physical activity became an effective way to restore changes in body composition. However, current available literature assessing the body composition before, during and after adolescence in female and male rodents by in vivo techniques is scarce. Thus, by using computerized tomography, we aimed to define the baseline of the weight and body composition during the adolescence and young adulthood of female and male Sprague–Dawley rats (on P30, P60 and P90) under standard diet. Then, we determined the effect of 18 days of forced exercise on the body weight and composition during the early adolescence (P27-45). The highest percentual increments in weight, body volume and relative adipose contents occurred during the female and male adolescence. Forced running during the early adolescence decreased weight, body volume and relative adipose delta and increment values in males only. The adolescence of rats is a period of drastic body composition changes, where exercise interventions have sex-dependent effects. These results support a model that could open new research windows in the field of adolescent obesity.
- PublicationOpen AccessTCF7L2 regulates postmitotic differentiation programmes and excitability patterns in the thalamus(The company of Biologists Ltd., 2020-08-25) Andrzej Lipiec, Marcin; Bem, Joanna; Koziński, Kamil; Chakraborty, Chaitali; Urban-Ciećko, Joanna; Zajkowski, Tomasz; Dabrowski, Michał; Mateusz Szewczyk, Łukasz; Toval, Ángel; Ferrán Bertone, José Luis; Nagalsk, Andrzej; Wiśniewska, Marta Barbara; Anatomía Humana y Psicobiología; Facultad de MedicinaNeuronal phenotypes are controlled by terminal selector transcription factors in invertebrates, but only a few examples of such regulators have been provided in vertebrates. We hypothesised that TCF7L2 regulates different stages of postmitotic differentiation in the thalamus, and functions as a thalamic terminal selector. To investigate this hypothesis, we used complete and conditional knockouts of Tcf7l2 inmice. The connectivity and clustering of neurons were disrupted in the thalamo-habenular region in Tcf7l2−/− embryos. The expression of subregional thalamic and habenular transcription factors was lost and region-specific cell migration and axon guidance genes were downregulated. In mice with a postnatal Tcf7l2 knockout, the induction of genes that confer thalamic terminal electrophysiological features was impaired. Many of these genes proved to be direct targets of TCF7L2. The role of TCF7L2 in terminal selection was functionally confirmed by impaired firing modes in thalamic neurons in the mutantmice. These data corroborate the existence of master regulators in the vertebrate brain that control stage-specific genetic programmes and regional subroutines, maintain regional transcriptional network during embryonic development, and induce terminal selection postnatally.