Caffeine and Nutrition: an Overview - Caffeine: Chemistry, Analysis, Function and Effects - page 16

Key Facts of Cortical Spreading Depression (CSD)

Aspect of CSD Fact Highlighting point

d n 0 t 2 n g | 3

Cortical cell organization CSD needs a certain

number of neural cell
bodies to occur

CSD is a ''social'' or
''cooperative'' cellular
phenomenon in the neural
tissue

Stimulus needed to elicit
CSD

Any kind of rapid energy
variation (chemical,
electrical, mechanical,
etc.) applied to the tissue
for a certain time

CSD can be elicited by
several, nonspecific stimuli

Tissue recovery from
CSD

The electrical activity of the
depressed region recovers
in 5-10 min after
depression

CSD is a completely
reversible phenomenon

Functionally distinct
regions of the brain

CSD apparently propagates
in the same way from a
motor to a sensory region,
and vice versa

Brain functional limits do
not influence CSD
propagation

Relation of CSD to
Phylogenesis

CSD has been observed in
all animal species so far
studied, from fishes to
mammals, including the
human species

CSD seems to be a very
general phenomenon of the
nervous system

CSD velocity of
propagation

In the order of a few mm
min -1

In contrast to action
potentials, CSD is a
paradoxically much
slower propagating
phenomenon of the
nervous tissue

Is CSD a physiological or
a pathological
phenomenon?

Some CSD features speak
in favor of a brain
protecting role, but there
is also evidence linking
CSD to certain
neurological diseases

Understanding the
underlying CSD
mechanisms will help in
knowing brain functioning
under normal and-or
under some neurological
disorders

This table was adapted from the ''Table 148.1'' entitled ''Key features of relevant aspects of CSD''
recently published by one of the present authors [see Guedes, 2011].

Definitions and Explanations of Key Terms
Latent Inhibition (LI): is an experimental model in which the animal is first
repeatedly exposed to a neutral stimulus, and thereafter submitted to a
conditioning paradigm in which the neutral stimulus now functions as a
conditioned stimulus. The pre-exposure to this conditioned stimulus impairs
the subsequent conditioning. In our experiments, LI was assessed using a