Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is a severe neurological disease associated with Th17/Treg cell imbalance and dysregulation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. This study investigates whether miR-155 inhibition can activate Wnt/β-catenin signaling, improve Th17/Treg balance, and provide neuroprotection against stroke. We conducted a multilevel experimental design, including high-throughput sequencing, bioinformatics analysis, in vivo mouse models, and in vitro cell experiments. High-throughput sequencing revealed significant differential gene expression between the miR-155 antagomir–treated and control groups (BioProject: PRJNA1152758). Bioinformatics analysis identified key genes linked to Wnt/β-catenin signaling and Th17/Treg imbalance. In vitro experiments confirmed that miR-155 inhibition activated Wnt/β-catenin signaling and improved Th17/Treg ratios. In vivo studies demonstrated that miR-155 antagomir treatment provided significant neuroprotection against AIS. These findings suggest that targeting mi...

To develop reparative therapies for neurological disorders like multiple sclerosis (MS), we need to better understand the physiology of loss and replacement of oligodendrocytes, the cells that make myelin and are the target of damage in MS. In vivo two-photon fluorescence microscopy allows direct visualization of oligodendrocytes in the intact brain of transgenic mouse models, promising a deeper understanding of the longitudinal dynamics of replacing oligodendrocytes after damage. However, the task of tracking the fate of individual oligodendrocytes requires extensive effort for manual annotation and is especially challenging in three-dimensional images. While several models exist for annotating cells in two-dimensional images, few models exist to annotate cells in three-dimensional images and even fewer are designed for tracking cells in longitudinal imaging. Notably, existing options often come with a substantial financial investment, being predominantly commercial or confined to proprietary software. Fu...

A common impairment in aging is age-related hearing loss (presbycusis), which manifests as impaired spectrotemporal processing. Presbycusis can be caused by a dysfunction of the peripheral and central auditory system, and these dysfunctions might differ between the sexes. To date, the circuit mechanisms in the central nervous system responsible for age-related auditory dysfunction remain mostly unknown. In the auditory cortex (ACtx), aging is accompanied by alteration in normal inhibitory (GABA) neurotransmission and changes in excitatory (NMDA and AMPA) synapses, but which circuits are affected has been unclear. Here we investigated how auditory cortical microcircuits change with age and if sex-dependent differences existed. We performed laser-scanning photostimulation (LSPS) combined with whole-cell patch-clamp recordings from layer (L) 2/3 cells in the primary auditory cortex (A1) in young adult (2–3 months) and aged (older than 18 months) male and female CBA/CaJ mice which have normal peripheral hearin...

Breathing is a complex neuromuscular process vital to sustain life. In pre-clinical animal models, the study of respiratory motor control is primarily accomplished through neurophysiologic recordings and functional measurements of respiratory output. Neurophysiologic recordings that target neural or muscular output via direct nerve recordings or respiratory muscle electromyography (EMG) are commonly collected during anesthetized conditions. While offering tight control of experimental preparations, the use of anesthesia results in respiratory depression, may impact cardiovascular control, eliminates the potential to record volitional non-ventilatory behaviors, and can limit translation. Since the diaphragm is a unique muscle which is rhythmically active and difficult to access, placing diaphragm EMGs to collect chronic recordings in awake animals is technically challenging. Here, we describe methods for fabricating and implanting indwelling diaphragm EMG electrodes to enable recordings from awake rodents f...

The amygdala is believed to make invaluable contributions to visual emotion processing. Yet how this subcortical body contributes to emotion perception across time is contended. Here, we measured differences in the perceptual processing of emotional stimuli after unilateral temporal lobe and amygdala resection (TLR) in humans, using EEG. Through mass univariate analysis of brain activity, we compared responses to fearful and neutral faces (left TLR N = 8, right TLR N = 8, control N = 8), and fearful and neutral bodies (left TLR N = 9, right TLR N = 9, control N = 9). We found that TLR impaired the early-stage perceptual processing of emotional stimuli seen in the control group. Indeed, in controls a heightened responses to fearful faces was found in the 140-170 ms time window, over temporo-parietal electrodes. This effect was also present in the left TLR group but disappeared in the right TLR group. For emotional bodies, brain activity was differentially sensitive to fearful stimuli at 90-120 ms in the con...

Ian Paul and Alan Sved discuss how faculty can create effective and measurable goals and objectives for students enrolled in an interdisciplinary program.

Many people chronically suffer from sleep disorders that hinder daily functioning and adversely affect health and longevity. Despite the discovery of some basic neurobiological concepts, the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in sleep promotion and in the coordinated succession of behavioral states remain largely unknown and are the subject of intense research.

This webinar will provide scientists with information about how to develop precise and effective significance statements to accompany their work. These statements are increasingly being used by agencies reviewing science for funding opportunities, editorial reviewers for publication in scientific journals, and the media. The goal of this webinar is to inform the neuroscience community about the benefits of creating a significance statement in a way that peaks the interest of others in the field, as well as laypersons, which can lead to opportunities for published research and/or funding.

As my research in graduate school has developed, it has become clear how important federal and state funding is to my future.

Evolutionary pressures adapted insect chemosensation to the respective insect’s physiological needs and tasks in their ecological niches. Solitary nocturnal moths rely on their acute olfactory sense to find mates at night. Pheromones are detected with maximized sensitivity and high temporal resolution through mechanisms that are mostly unknown. While the inverse topology of insect olfactory receptors and heteromerization with the coreceptor Orco suggest ionotropic transduction via odorant-gated receptor-ion channel complexes, contradictory data propose amplifying G protein-coupled transduction. Here, we used in vivo tip-recordings of pheromone-sensitive sensilla of male Manduca sexta hawkmoths at specific times of day (rest vs. activity). Since the olfactory receptor neurons distinguish signal parameters in three consecutive temporal windows of their pheromone response (phasic; tonic; late, long-lasting), respective response parameters were analyzed separately. Disruption of G protein-coupled transduction ...