Tag: Neuroanatomy and Structure

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

Evelina Fedorenko receives Troland Award from National Academy of Sciences

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) announced today that McGovern Investigator Evelina Fedorenko will receive a 2025 Troland Research Award for her groundbreaking contributions towards understanding the language network in the human brain. The Troland Research Award is given annually to recognize unusual achievement by early-career researchers within the broad spectrum of experimental psychology. McGovern… Continue reading Evelina Fedorenko receives Troland Award from National Academy of Sciences

Parietofrontal Networks Mediate Contextual Influences in the Appraisal of Pain and Disgust Facial Expressions

We appraise other people’s emotions by combining multiple sources of information, including somatic facial/body reactions and the surrounding context. Wealthy literature revealed how people take into account contextual information in the interpretation of facial expressions, but the mechanisms mediating such influence still need to be duly investigated. Across two experiments, we mapped the neural representations… Continue reading Parietofrontal Networks Mediate Contextual Influences in the Appraisal of Pain and Disgust Facial Expressions

Multitasking Practice Eliminates Modality-Based Interference by Separating Task Representations in Sensory Brain Regions

The debate on the neural basis of multitasking costs evolves around neural overlap between concurrently performed tasks. Recent evidence suggests that training-related reductions in representational overlap in fronto-parietal brain regions predict multitasking improvements. Cognitive theories assume that overlap of task representations may lead to unintended information exchange between tasks (i.e., crosstalk). Modality-based crosstalk was suggested… Continue reading Multitasking Practice Eliminates Modality-Based Interference by Separating Task Representations in Sensory Brain Regions

Striosome Circuitry Stimulation Inhibits Striatal Dopamine Release and Locomotion

The mammalian striatum is divided into two types of anatomical structures: the island-like, μ-opioid receptor (MOR)-rich striosome compartment and the surrounding matrix compartment. Both compartments have two types of spiny projection neurons (SPNs), dopamine receptor D1 (D1R)-expressing direct pathway SPNs (dSPNs) and dopamine receptor D2 (D2R)-expressing indirect pathway SPNs. These compartmentalized structures have distinct roles… Continue reading Striosome Circuitry Stimulation Inhibits Striatal Dopamine Release and Locomotion

Neuropeptidergic Input from the Lateral Hypothalamus to the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus Alters the Circadian Period in Mice

In mammals, the central circadian clock is located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus, which transmits circadian information to other brain regions and regulates the timing of sleep and wakefulness. Neurons in the lateral hypothalamus (LH), particularly those producing melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) and orexin, are key regulators of sleep and wakefulness. Although the… Continue reading Neuropeptidergic Input from the Lateral Hypothalamus to the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus Alters the Circadian Period in Mice

EphA4 Mediates EphrinB1-Dependent Adhesion in Retinal Ganglion Cells

Eph/ephrin signaling is crucial for organizing retinotopic maps in vertebrates. Unlike other EphAs, which are expressed in the embryonic ventral retina, EphA4 is found in the retinal ganglion cell (RGC) layer at perinatal stages, and its role in mammalian visual system development remains unclear. Using classic in vitro stripe assays, we demonstrate that, while RGC… Continue reading EphA4 Mediates EphrinB1-Dependent Adhesion in Retinal Ganglion Cells

Prefrontal working memory activity slots support sequence memory similar to hippocampal long-term memory position recall

Prefrontal cortex and medial temporal lobe information processing might not be that different after all. In this issue of Neuron, Whittington et al. show that prefrontal cortex working memory slot activity enables sequence memorizing similar to hippocampal long-term memory. Here, this approach is outlined and its implications are discussed.