Tag: Neuroanatomy and Structure
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
Single-Nuclei Sequencing Reveals a Robust Corticospinal Response to Nearby Axotomy But Overall Insensitivity to Spinal Injury
The ability of neurons to sense and respond to damage is crucial for maintaining homeostasis and facilitating nervous system repair. For some cell types, notably dorsal root ganglia and retinal ganglion cells, extensive profiling has uncovered a significant transcriptional response to axon injury, which influences survival and regenerative outcomes. In contrast, the injury responses of… Continue reading Single-Nuclei Sequencing Reveals a Robust Corticospinal Response to Nearby Axotomy But Overall Insensitivity to Spinal Injury
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
Topographic Axes of Wiring Space Converge to Genetic Topography in Shaping the Human Cortical Layout
Genetic information is involved in the gradual emergence of cortical areas since the neural tube begins to form, shaping the heterogeneous functions of neural circuits in the human brain. Informed by invasive tract-tracing measurements, the cortex exhibits marked interareal variation in connectivity profiles, revealing the heterogeneity across cortical areas. However, it remains unclear about the… Continue reading Topographic Axes of Wiring Space Converge to Genetic Topography in Shaping the Human Cortical Layout
[ASAP] Acute Optogenetic Stimulation of Serotonin Neurons Reduces Cell Proliferation in the Dentate Gyrus of Mice
Mapping mRNA through its life cycle within a cell
When Xiao Wang applied to faculty jobs, many of the institutions where she interviewed thought her research proposal — to study the life cycle of RNA in cells and how it influences normal development and disease — was too broad. However, that was not the case when she interviewed at MIT, where her future colleagues… Continue reading Mapping mRNA through its life cycle within a cell
The transcription factor combination MEF2 and KLF7 promotes axonal sprouting in the injured spinal cord with functional improvement and regeneration-associated gene expression
Axon regeneration after injury to the central nervous system (CNS) is limited by an inhibitory environment but also because injured neurons fail to initiate expression of regeneration associated genes (RAGs). …
Histone Methyltransferase G9a in Primary Sensory Neurons Promotes Inflammatory Pain and Transcription of Trpa1 and Trpv1 via Bivalent Histone Modifications
Transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) and vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) channels are crucial for detecting and transmitting nociceptive stimuli. Inflammatory pain is associated with sustained increases in TRPA1 and TRPV1 expression in primary sensory neurons. However, the epigenetic mechanisms driving this upregulation remain unknown. G9a (encoded by Ehmt2) catalyzes H3K9me2 and generally represses gene transcription.… Continue reading Histone Methyltransferase G9a in Primary Sensory Neurons Promotes Inflammatory Pain and Transcription of Trpa1 and Trpv1 via Bivalent Histone Modifications