The traditional Chinese medicine Shensong Yangxin（SSYX） can improve the clinical symptoms of arrhythmia in an integrated manner. This study aimed to investigate the electrophysiological effect of SSYX on the hearts ...The traditional Chinese medicine Shensong Yangxin（SSYX） can improve the clinical symptoms of arrhythmia in an integrated manner. This study aimed to investigate the electrophysiological effect of SSYX on the hearts of myocardial-infarcted rabbits and further explore the mechanism by which SSYX alleviates myocardial fibrosis. Myocardial infarction（MI） was established in rabbits by ligation of the left circumflex coronary. The rabbits were treated with SSYX（0.5 g/kg/d） or saline for 8 weeks by oral administration. Microelectrode array（MEA） technology was used in vivo for extracellular electrophysiological recordings of the infarct border zone. Masson＇s trichrome staining was used to observe myocardial fibrosis. Western blotting was performed to evaluate the protein expression levels of collagen Ⅰ（COL Ⅰ） and collagen Ⅲ（COL Ⅲ）. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction（real-time PCR） was performed to evaluate the TGF-β1 and MMP-2 m RNA expression levels. The results showed that the total activation time（TAT） and the dispersion of TAT were significantly increased and the excitation propagation markedly disordered after MI. SSYX could significantly decrease TAT and the dispersion of TAT, and significantly ameliorate the chaotic spread pattern of excitation. Furthermore, SSYX treatment could significantly decrease COL Ⅰ and COL Ⅲ protein levels and down-regulate TGF-β1 and MMP-2 m RNA expression levels in MI rabbits. It was concluded that SSYX may ameliorate cardiac electrophysiological abnormalities in infarcted hearts by decreasing the protein levels of COL Ⅰ and COL Ⅲ, down-regulating the m RNA expression levels of TGF-β1 and MMP2, and thereby reducing adverse cardiac remodeling.展开更多
The famous claim that we only use about 10% of the brain capacity has recently been challenged. Researchers argue that we are likely to use the whole brain, against the 10% claim. Some evidence and results from releva...The famous claim that we only use about 10% of the brain capacity has recently been challenged. Researchers argue that we are likely to use the whole brain, against the 10% claim. Some evidence and results from relevant studies and experiments related to memory in the field of neuroscience lead to the conclusion that if the rest 90% of the brain is not used, then many neural pathways will degenerate. What is memory? How does the brain function? What would be the limit of memory capacity? This article provides a model established upon the physiological and neurological characteristics of the human brain, which can give some theoretical support and scientific explanation to explain some phenomena. It may not only have theoretically significance in neuroscience, but can also be practically useful to fill in the gap between the natural and machine intelligence.展开更多
基金supported by the National Key Basic Research Development Program of China(“973”Program)(No.2012CB518604)
文摘The traditional Chinese medicine Shensong Yangxin（SSYX） can improve the clinical symptoms of arrhythmia in an integrated manner. This study aimed to investigate the electrophysiological effect of SSYX on the hearts of myocardial-infarcted rabbits and further explore the mechanism by which SSYX alleviates myocardial fibrosis. Myocardial infarction（MI） was established in rabbits by ligation of the left circumflex coronary. The rabbits were treated with SSYX（0.5 g/kg/d） or saline for 8 weeks by oral administration. Microelectrode array（MEA） technology was used in vivo for extracellular electrophysiological recordings of the infarct border zone. Masson＇s trichrome staining was used to observe myocardial fibrosis. Western blotting was performed to evaluate the protein expression levels of collagen Ⅰ（COL Ⅰ） and collagen Ⅲ（COL Ⅲ）. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction（real-time PCR） was performed to evaluate the TGF-β1 and MMP-2 m RNA expression levels. The results showed that the total activation time（TAT） and the dispersion of TAT were significantly increased and the excitation propagation markedly disordered after MI. SSYX could significantly decrease TAT and the dispersion of TAT, and significantly ameliorate the chaotic spread pattern of excitation. Furthermore, SSYX treatment could significantly decrease COL Ⅰ and COL Ⅲ protein levels and down-regulate TGF-β1 and MMP-2 m RNA expression levels in MI rabbits. It was concluded that SSYX may ameliorate cardiac electrophysiological abnormalities in infarcted hearts by decreasing the protein levels of COL Ⅰ and COL Ⅲ, down-regulating the m RNA expression levels of TGF-β1 and MMP2, and thereby reducing adverse cardiac remodeling.
文摘The famous claim that we only use about 10% of the brain capacity has recently been challenged. Researchers argue that we are likely to use the whole brain, against the 10% claim. Some evidence and results from relevant studies and experiments related to memory in the field of neuroscience lead to the conclusion that if the rest 90% of the brain is not used, then many neural pathways will degenerate. What is memory? How does the brain function? What would be the limit of memory capacity? This article provides a model established upon the physiological and neurological characteristics of the human brain, which can give some theoretical support and scientific explanation to explain some phenomena. It may not only have theoretically significance in neuroscience, but can also be practically useful to fill in the gap between the natural and machine intelligence.
