日前,，由復(fù)旦大學(xué)數(shù)學(xué)學(xué)院特聘教授馮建峰博士領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的研究團(tuán)隊(duì)，通過(guò)十多年的潛心研究，揭示了哺乳過(guò)程中母親體內(nèi)一種與信任,、情誼密切相關(guān)的非常重要的荷爾蒙(Oxytocin)分泌與大腦神經(jīng)細(xì)胞狀態(tài)之間的密切關(guān)系，從而揭示出母親哺乳的生物機(jī)能,。該成果發(fā)表《公共科學(xué)圖書(shū)館·計(jì)算生物學(xué)》（PLoS Computational Biology）上,。
醫(yī)學(xué)研究表明，母親在哺乳過(guò)程中,，其體內(nèi)需要分泌大量的荷爾蒙才能促使乳腺分泌乳汁,，以達(dá)到哺育孩子的目的。但是,，長(zhǎng)久以來(lái),，科學(xué)家一直無(wú)法解釋，這樣大量的荷爾蒙到底是從何而來(lái),，由何種機(jī)制來(lái)進(jìn)行調(diào)控的,。
復(fù)旦大學(xué)馮建峰博士領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的團(tuán)隊(duì)對(duì)于這一問(wèn)題給予了回答。他們的研究發(fā)現(xiàn),，母親在哺乳過(guò)程中,，其大腦中下丘腦神經(jīng)細(xì)胞展現(xiàn)出非常有規(guī)律的同步發(fā)放分泌大量荷爾蒙的生理現(xiàn)象。同時(shí)他們還發(fā)現(xiàn),，母親大腦中負(fù)責(zé)細(xì)胞之間信號(hào)傳遞的細(xì)胞樹(shù)突通過(guò)正反饋也參與到分泌荷爾蒙的行列之中,。這項(xiàng)研究工作可用于探索“內(nèi)部宇宙”——人類大腦功能中的大量類似現(xiàn)象。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原始出處：
PLoS Computational Biology,，doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1000123,，Enrico Rossoni，Jianfeng Feng
Emergent Synchronous Bursting of Oxytocin Neuronal Network
Enrico Rossoni1, Jianfeng Feng1,2*, Brunello Tirozzi3, David Brown4, Gareth Leng5, Françoise Moos6
1 Department of Computer Science, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom2 Centre for Computational System Biology, Fudan University, China3 Department of Physics, University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’, Rome, Italy4 The Babraham Institute, Cambridge, United Kingdom5 Centre for Integrative Physiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom6 Biologie des Neurones Endocrines, Montpellier,
Abstract
When young suckle, they are rewarded intermittently with a let-down of milk that results from reflex secretion of the hormone oxytocin; without oxytocin, newly born young will die unless they are fostered. Oxytocin is made by magnocellular hypothalamic neurons, and is secreted from their nerve endings in the pituitary in response to action potentials (spikes) that are generated in the cell bodies and which are propagated down their axons to the nerve endings. Normally, oxytocin cells discharge asynchronously at 1–3 spikes/s, but during suckling, every 5 min or so, each discharges a brief, intense burst of spikes that release a pulse of oxytocin into the circulation. This reflex was the first, and is perhaps the best, example of a physiological role for peptide-mediated communication within the brain: it is coordinated by the release of oxytocin from the dendrites of oxytocin cells; it can be facilitated by injection of tiny amounts of oxytocin into the hypothalamus, and it can be blocked by injection of tiny amounts of oxytocin antagonist. Here we show how synchronized bursting can arise in a neuronal network model that incorporates basic observations of the physiology of oxytocin cells. In our model, bursting is an emergent behaviour of a complex system, involving both positive and negative feedbacks, between many sparsely connected cells. The oxytocin cells are regulated by independent afferent inputs, but they interact by local release of oxytocin and endocannabinoids. Oxytocin released from the dendrites of these cells has a positive-feedback effect, while endocannabinoids have an inhibitory effect by suppressing the afferent input to the cells.
