A panel of experienced science communicators discuss strategies researchers can utilize to communicate their work with lay audiences. Presenters talk specifically about public speaking, delivering science presentations, and using social media.

Single-nucleus RNA-sequencing (snRNA-seq) has revealed new levels of cellular organization and diversity within the human brain. However, full-length mRNA isoforms are not resolved in typical snRNA-seq analyses using short-read sequencing that cannot capture full-length transcripts. Here we combine standard 10X Genomics short-read snRNA-seq with targeted PacBio long-read snRNA-seq to examine isoforms of genes associated with neurological diseases at the single-cell level from prefrontal cortex samples of diseased and non-diseased human brain, assessing over 165,000 cells. Samples from 25 post-mortem donors with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), or Parkinson’s disease (PD), along with age-matched controls were compared. Analysis of the short-read libraries identified shared and distinct gene expression changes across the diseases. The same libraries were then assayed using enrichment probes to target 50 disease-related genes followed by long-read PacBio sequencing, enabling linkage ...

In the developing nervous system, differentiating neurons send out axons to find and synapse with their targets: either other neurons or muscle cells, often located far away.

Erik Prentice, a senior engagement manager at Proactive Worldwide, talks about how his doctoral program helped prepare him for a career in government and the private sector.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an extraordinarily popular topic in neuroethics. A special issue on the topic in AJOBN can be found here.

What are the consequences of income inequality on academic achievement and individual earnings for children around the world? In this Social Issues Roundtable, researchers share their findings on the impact of socioeconomic status on brain development, executive function, self-regulation, chronic toxic stress, and language.

In an effort to increase access to neuroscience education in underserved communities, we created an educational program that utilizes a simple task to measure place preference of the cockroach ( Gromphadorhina portentosa ) and the open-source free software, SLEAP Estimates Animal Pose (SLEAP) to quantify behavior. Cockroaches ( n  = 18) were trained to explore a linear track for 2 min while exposed to either air, vapor, or vapor with nicotine from a port on one side of the linear track over 14 d. The time the animal took to reach the port was measured, along with distance traveled, time spent in each zone, and velocity. As characterizing behavior is challenging and inaccessible for nonexperts new to behavioral research, we created an educational program using the machine learning algorithm, SLEAP, and cloud-based (i.e., Google Colab) low-cost platforms for data analysis. We found that SLEAP was within a 0.5% margin of error when compared with manually scoring the data. Cockroaches were found to have an inc...

As you gear up for 2017, rediscover this mix of webinars, scientific research summaries, interviews, and advice articles to set yourself up for learning and advancement in the new year.

Tiny hair-like subcellular structures called motile cilia project from the ependymal surface to ventricular cavities in the brain.

Recently I had the opportunity to teach neuroscience to a ninth grade summer school class at Harlem Educational Activities Fund.