Unsupervised restoration of a complex learned behavior after large-scale neuronal perturbation

This paper reports on research investigating how zebra finches recover their complex learned behaviors following large-scale neuronal perturbations. The researchers selectively disrupted the activity of the projection neurons in the HVC (hyperpallium ventralis) region critical for song sequence generation in zebra finches using genetic tools, leadi...

Closed-loop recruitment of striatal interneurons prevents compulsive-like grooming behaviors

Closed-loop recruitment of striatal interneurons prevents compulsive-like grooming behaviors

Obsessive-compulsive behaviors have long been associated with overactivation of the striatum. The GABA-ergic parvalbumin-positive interneurons (PVIs) in the striatum play a crucial role in regulating striatal activity and inhibiting inappropriate motivated behaviors. To investigate the potential role of striatal PVIs in regulating obsessive-compuls...

Cognitive representations of intracranial self-stimulation of midbrain dopamine neurons depend on stimulation frequency

This paper reports a study on the cognitive representation of intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) of midbrain dopamine neurons. The authors aimed to answer why rats work to obtain ICSS, i.e., how the pulsatile activation of dopamine neurons is represented in the brain. Research Background: The pulsatile activation of dopamine neurons is typically ...

The subcommissural organ regulates brain development via secreted peptides

The subcommissural organ regulates brain development via secreted peptides

I. Research Background and Purpose The subcommissural organ (SCO) is a glandular structure located at the entrance of the ventricular system, which is present in humans and other vertebrates, but its function has not been fully elucidated. Previous studies have suggested that the SCO may be involved in the regulation of neural development and the m...

Dimensionality reduction beyond neural subspaces with slice tensor component analysis

Background Introduction: Large-scale neural recording data can typically be described by patterns of co-activated neurons. However, the view of constraining neural activity variability to a fixed low-dimensional subspace may overlook higher-dimensional structures, such as fixed neural sequences or slowly evolving latent spaces. This study argues th...

Identification of senescent, TREM2-expressing microglia in aging and Alzheimer's disease model mouse brain

Identification of senescent, TREM2-expressing microglia in aging and Alzheimer's disease model mouse brain

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an age-related chronic neurodegenerative disorder, whose pathological mechanism involves multiple factors, including brain inflammation. Microglia, particularly those expressing the AD risk gene TREM2, are believed to play a crucial role in the development of AD, but their exact contribution has not been fully elucidated...

Assessing the contribution of the chemical exposome to neurodegenerative disease

Assessing the contribution of the chemical exposome to neurodegenerative disease

Assessing the Risks of Chemical Exposures for Neurodegenerative Diseases Introduction In recent years, many environmental chemicals, from solvents to pesticides, have been implicated in the development and progression of neurodegenerative diseases. However, a systematic approach akin to genome-wide association studies, which have identified dozens ...

Single-cell long-read sequencing-based mapping reveals specialized splicing patterns in developing and adult mouse and human brain

Single-cell sequencing technology reveals unique splicing patterns in developing and adult mouse and human brains In the nervous system, the splicing patterns of messenger RNA (mRNA) play a critical role in establishing cellular identity and regulating cellular functions. However, a comprehensive atlas depicting the mRNA splicing patterns across br...

Cortical gene expression architecture links healthy neurodevelopment to the imaging, transcriptomics and genetics of autism and schizophrenia

Linking Healthy Neurodevelopment with Imaging, Transcriptomic, and Genetic Associations in Autism Spectrum Disorder and Schizophrenia: A Study of Cortical Gene Expression Patterns Background: How does the complex anatomy and functional organization of the human brain develop from the expression of more than 20,000 genes? And how does this process g...

Messenger RNA transport on lysosomal vesicles maintains axonal mitochondrial homeostasis and prevents axonal degeneration

Messenger RNA transport on lysosomal vesicles maintains axonal mitochondrial homeostasis and prevents axonal degeneration

This study utilized induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived neurons to investigate the critical role of lysosome-related vesicles in axonal mRNA transport and mitochondrial homeostasis maintenance. By knocking out BORC subunits (borcs5 or borcs7) to block the entry of lysosome-related vesicles into axons, researchers found that this led to a s...