Forming a long-term memory requires changes in neuronal transcription. What happens, though, as the memory is forgotten? And how does the transcriptional state relate to the maintenance and recall of the long-term memory? To answer these questions we have been systematically tracing the time-course of transcriptional changes evoked by long-term sensitization in the marine mollusk Aplysia californica . Our approach captures transcriptional changes in neurons of known behavioral relevance using a within-subjects design, delineating patterns of transcriptional change that are comprehensive and reproducible. We have previously reported that within 1 day of long-term sensitization training there is a widespread transcriptional response involving robust changes in over 5% of tested transcripts (1,252 of ∼22k; Conte, 2017). Within 1 week, however, memory strength fades and nearly all transcriptional changes relapse to baseline (Perez, 2018). Here we report microarray analysis ( N = 16) of transcriptional changes ...

The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) produces diffusible signals sufficient to sustain circadian locomotor rhythms, though the nature of such signals, their targets, and the pathway whereby such signals may travel is unknown. It is possible that the venous portal veins that connect the capillary beds of the SCN to those of the organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis (OVLT) provide a vascular pathway whereby signals originating in SCN neurons can reach local targets in the OVLT. Given the presence of the blood-brain interface (BBI) within the SCN, it is unclear how diffusible signals originating in SCN neurons might access the capillary vasculature of this nucleus. Estimates of astrocyte coverage of capillary vasculature range widely, from 70-100%, and furthermore such coverage can change dynamically. In the present study, we investigated whether three vasoactive peptidergic processes found in the mouse SCN, namely vasopressin, vasoactive intestinal peptide and gastrin releasing peptide, might breach the B...

Rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) have enabled text-to-speech (TTS) systems to produce voices increasingly indistinguishable from humans, posing significant societal risks, particularly through potential misuse in fraud and deception. To address this concern, this study combined behavioral assessments and neural measures using electroencephalography (EEG) to examine whether short-term perceptual training enhances people's ability to distinguish AI-generated from human speech. Thirty participants (of either sex) listened to sentences produced by human speakers and corresponding AI-generated clones, judging each sentence as either human or AI-generated before and after a brief (∼12-minute) training session, during which voices were explicitly labeled as "human" or "AI". Behaviorally, participants showed consistently poor discrimination before and after training, with only minimal improvement. However, neural analyses revealed substantial training-induced changes. Specifically, temporal respo...

A possible mechanism of temporal lobe epilepsy is insufficient inhibition of hippocampal dentate granule cells. Precipitating injuries that kill interneurons in the dentate gyrus might result in fewer inhibitory synapses with granule cells. To test this hypothesis, previous studies evaluated numbers or densities of interneurons, γ-amino butyric acid (GABA)ergic boutons, and inhibitory synapses in tissue from human patients with temporal lobe epilepsy and rodent models. However, those studies have limitations. Some of those limitations can be addressed by a large animal model. Sea lions ( Zalophus californianus ) can develop temporal lobe epilepsy naturally. Like humans, epileptic sea lions exhibit bilateral or unilateral hippocampal sclerosis (neuron loss) with granule cell vulnerability, but sea lions permit optimal tissue preservation and sampling, and good control subjects. To label interneuron cell bodies and GABAergic synaptic boutons, sea lion hippocampal tissue from both sexes was processed with imm...

Kaitlin Laws and Greg Bashaw discuss their paper, “DrosoPHILA: A Partnership between Scientists and Teachers That Begins in the Lab and Continues into City Schools,” published in Vol. 10, Issue 2 of eNeuro, with BrainFacts editor Kelley Remole. 

If you’ve never nominated someone for an award, the process can be daunting. At SfN, there are multiple categories meant for different achievement types, and each award’s requirements are different. This can make it confusing when you’re trying figure out if someone is eligible and if you can put together a nomination in time.

Rodent hippocampal power spectra comprise periodic and aperiodic components. The periodic components (brain rhythms) contain information about the behavioral or cognitive state of the animal. The aperiodic components are rarely studied, and their functionality is not well understood, though they have shown to be correlated with animal's age or the excitation–inhibition ratio of the brain region. To study these components in the mouse hippocampus, we modified the existing open-source FOOOF toolbox, which was originally optimized for EEG data. First, using simulated data, we show that our modifications decrease the error in assessment of the low frequency periodic components from 3 to 0.1%. Second, using tetrode electrophysiological signals from adult males, we compare the aperiodic activity within mice hippocampal subregions, CA1 and dentate gyrus (DG). Our optimization of FOOOF improved the aperiodic assessment errors by ∼50% and were critical in making the first assessment of the aperiodic components in t...

Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease (CMT) is an inherited peripheral neuropathy characterized by sensory dysfunction and muscle weakness, manifesting in the most distal limbs first and progressing more proximal. Over a hundred genes are currently linked to CMT with enrichment for activities in myelination, axon transport, and protein synthesis. Mutations in tRNA synthetases cause dominantly inherited forms of CMT, and animal models with CMT-linked mutations in these enzymes display defects in neuronal protein synthesis. Rescuing protein synthesis in CMT-mutant neurons could offer exciting therapeutic options beyond symptom management. To address this need, we expressed CMT-linked variants of tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase (YARS–CMT) in primary mouse sensory neurons derived from both male and female embryos and evaluated impacts on protein synthesis and cell viability. YARS–CMT expression reduced protein synthesis in these neurons prior to the onset of caspase-dependent axon degeneration and cell death. To determine how Y...

A possible mechanism of temporal lobe epilepsy is insufficient inhibition of hippocampal dentate granule cells. Precipitating injuries that kill interneurons in the dentate gyrus might result in fewer inhibitory synapses with granule cells. To test this hypothesis, previous studies evaluated numbers or densities of interneurons, γ-amino butyric acid (GABA)ergic boutons, and inhibitory synapses in tissue from human patients with temporal lobe epilepsy and rodent models. However, those studies have limitations. Some of those limitations can be addressed by a large animal model. Sea lions ( Zalophus californianus ) can develop temporal lobe epilepsy naturally. Like humans, epileptic sea lions exhibit bilateral or unilateral hippocampal sclerosis (neuron loss) with granule cell vulnerability, but sea lions permit optimal tissue preservation and sampling, and good control subjects. To label interneuron cell bodies and GABAergic synaptic boutons, sea lion hippocampal tissue from both sexes was processed with imm...

Social media (SM) use is typically regarded as a technological tool which might negatively impact physical fitness and cognitive function, especially in critical developmental stages. In this opinion paper, we argue that specific forms of SM content might be beneficial for promoting motor skill acquisition and function. Furthermore, we suggest that SM use might be a promising innovative tool for educational purposes in optimizing skills not only in sports but also in academia. As a prerequisite, future research is needed to clarify the optimal type of content, its use, and how these parameters are affected by age. Therefore, longitudinal studies across the lifespan are necessary for a thorough understanding of the potential beneficial effects of SM use. The use of social media (SM) has rapidly accelerated due to technological progress and the release of the first SM platforms such as Facebook in the early 2000s. During the Covid-19 pandemic, lockdowns and social distancing acted as catalysts, contributing...