Article Abstract:
The nerve growth factor (NGF) increases while the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) decreases the response of the barrel subdivision of the rat somatosensory cortex to sensory stimulation of the snout whiskers. The functional representation of the stimulated whisker and activity-dependent intrinsic signal amplitude increase in the presence of NGF and decrease in the presence of BDNF. Both NGF and BDNF act on the upper cortical layers. The effect of NGF is temporary while that of BDNF is persistent.
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Article Abstract:
The foliar chemistry of every tree from two Eucalyptus species available to a population of koalas was characterized and a rate of tree visitation over a ten-year period was considered. The visitation rate was most strongly influenced by tree size, but that koalas also visited trees less frequently if the foliage contained either high concentrations of deterrent plant secondary metabolites (PSMs) known as formylated phloroglucinol compounds, or low concentrations of nitrogen.
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Article Abstract:
The modification of the functional and morphological organization of the facial whisker representation in the somatosensory 'barrel' cortex by the transfer of adult rats reared in standard laboratory cages to a naturalistic habitat is discussed. A large-scale functional refinement of cortical sensory maps is induced by transferring animals to an environment promoting the expression of natural, innate behaviours.
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