Tag: Developmental Neuroscience

Synaptic Vesicle Glycoprotein 2A Knockout in Parvalbumin and Somatostatin Interneurons Drives Seizures in the Postnatal Mouse Brain

Synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A (SV2A) is a presynaptic protein targeted by the antiseizure drug levetiracetam. One or more of the three SV2 genes is expressed in all neurons and is essential to normal neurotransmission. Loss of SV2A results in a seizure phenotype in mice and mutations in humans are also linked to congenital seizures. How… Continue reading Synaptic Vesicle Glycoprotein 2A Knockout in Parvalbumin and Somatostatin Interneurons Drives Seizures in the Postnatal Mouse Brain

Enhanced Somatosensory Inhibition Sharpens Hand Representation and Sensorimotor Skills in Pianists

Dexterous motor skills, like those needed for playing musical instruments and sports, require the somatosensory system to accurately and rapidly process somatosensory information from multiple body parts. This is challenging due to the convergence of afferent inputs from different body parts into a single neuron and the overlapping representation of neighboring body parts in the… Continue reading Enhanced Somatosensory Inhibition Sharpens Hand Representation and Sensorimotor Skills in Pianists

Disruption of Extracellular Matrix and Perineuronal Nets Modulates Extracellular Space Volume and Geometry

Extracellular matrix (ECM) is a network of macromolecules which has two forms—perineuronal nets (PNNs) and a diffuse ECM (dECM)—both influence brain development, synapse formation, neuroplasticity, CNS injury and progression of neurodegenerative diseases. ECM remodeling can influence extrasynaptic transmission, mediated by diffusion of neuroactive substances in the extracellular space (ECS). In this study we analyzed how… Continue reading Disruption of Extracellular Matrix and Perineuronal Nets Modulates Extracellular Space Volume and Geometry

Adolescent Cerebellar Nuclei Manipulation Alters Reversal Learning and Perineuronal Net Intensity Independently in Male and Female Mice

The cerebellum, identified to be active during cognitive and social behavior, has multisynaptic connections through the cerebellar nuclei (CN) and thalamus to cortical regions, yet formation and modulation of these pathways are not fully understood. Perineuronal nets (PNNs) respond to changes in local cellular activity and emerge during development. PNNs are implicated in learning and… Continue reading Adolescent Cerebellar Nuclei Manipulation Alters Reversal Learning and Perineuronal Net Intensity Independently in Male and Female Mice

Cell-Type-Specific Splicing of Transcription Regulators and Ptbp1 by Rbfox1/2/3 in the Developing Neocortex

How master splicing regulators cross talk with each other and to what extent transcription regulators are differentially spliced remain unclear in the developing brain. Here, cell-type–specific RNA-Seq analyses of the developing neocortex uncover variable expression of the Rbfox1/2/3 genes and enriched alternative splicing events in transcription regulators, altering protein isoforms or inducing nonsense-mediated mRNA decay.… Continue reading Cell-Type-Specific Splicing of Transcription Regulators and Ptbp1 by Rbfox1/2/3 in the Developing Neocortex

Perineuronal Nets on CA2 Pyramidal Cells and Parvalbumin-Expressing Cells Differentially Regulate Hippocampal-Dependent Memory

Perineuronal nets (PNNs) are a specialized extracellular matrix that surrounds certain populations of neurons, including (inhibitory) parvalbumin (PV)-expressing interneurons throughout the brain and (excitatory) CA2 pyramidal neurons in hippocampus. PNNs are thought to regulate synaptic plasticity by stabilizing synapses and as such, could regulate learning and memory. Most often, PNN functions are queried using enzymatic… Continue reading Perineuronal Nets on CA2 Pyramidal Cells and Parvalbumin-Expressing Cells Differentially Regulate Hippocampal-Dependent Memory

Convergence of Type 1 Spiral Ganglion Neuron Subtypes onto Principal Neurons of the Anteroventral Cochlear Nucleus

The mammalian auditory system encodes sounds with subtypes of spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) that differ in sound level sensitivity, permitting discrimination across a wide range of levels. Recent work suggests the physiologically defined SGN subtypes correspond to at least three molecular subtypes. It is not known how information from the different subtypes converges within the… Continue reading Convergence of Type 1 Spiral Ganglion Neuron Subtypes onto Principal Neurons of the Anteroventral Cochlear Nucleus

Targeting Tiam1 Enhances Hippocampal-Dependent Learning and Memory in the Adult Brain and Promotes NMDA Receptor-Mediated Synaptic Plasticity and Function

Excitatory synapses and the actin-rich dendritic spines on which they reside are indispensable for information processing and storage in the brain. In the adult hippocampus, excitatory synapses must balance plasticity and stability to support learning and memory. However, the mechanisms governing this balance remain poorly understood. Tiam1 is an actin cytoskeleton regulator prominently expressed in… Continue reading Targeting Tiam1 Enhances Hippocampal-Dependent Learning and Memory in the Adult Brain and Promotes NMDA Receptor-Mediated Synaptic Plasticity and Function

Editors’ Picks, January 2025: Evolutionary Insights Into Cancer, Impact of Nicotine Levels in E-cigarettes, and More

As winter marches on, let’s dive into the cool articles highlighted this month by the editors of the AACR journals. Grab a blanket and keep reading to learn how nicotine levels in e-cigarettes impact exposure to various toxins, why certain species are more likely to develop cancer, and results from a first-in-human trial evaluating a… Continue reading Editors’ Picks, January 2025: Evolutionary Insights Into Cancer, Impact of Nicotine Levels in E-cigarettes, and More