Recent research revealed a surprisingly large range of cognitive operations to be preserved during sleep in humans. The new challenge is therefore to understand functions and mechanisms of processes, which so far have been mainly investigated in awake subjects. The current study focuses on dynamic changes of brain oscillations and connectivity patterns in response to environmental stimulation during non-REM sleep. Our results indicate that aurally presented names were processed and neuronally differentiated across the wake-sleep spectrum. Simultaneously recorded EEG and MEG signals revealed two distinct clusters of oscillatory power increase in response to the stimuli: (1) vigilance state-independent θ synchronization occurring immediately after stimulus onset, followed by (2) sleep-specific α/σ synchronization peaking after stimulus offset. We discuss the possible role of θ, α, and σ oscillations during non-REM sleep, and work toward a unified theory of brain rhythms and their functions during sleep. SIG...

Physical exercise improves motor performance in individuals with Parkinson's disease and elevates mood in those with depression. Although underlying factors have not been identified, clues arise from previous studies showing a link between cognitive benefits of exercise and increases in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Here, we investigated the influence of voluntary wheel-running exercise on BDNF levels in the striatum of young male wild-type (WT) mice, and on the striatal release of a key motor-system transmitter, dopamine (DA). Mice were allowed unlimited access to a freely rotating wheel (runners) or a locked wheel (controls) for 30 d. Electrically evoked DA release was quantified in ex vivo corticostriatal slices from these animals using fast-scan cyclic voltammetry. We found that exercise increased BDNF levels in dorsal striatum (dStr) and increased DA release in dStr and in nucleus accumbens core and shell. Increased DA release was independent of striatal acetylcholine (ACh), and persisted ...

In the article “Prior Expectations in Visual Speed Perception Predict Encoding Characteristics of Neurons in Area MT,” by Ling-Qi Zhang and Alan A. Stocker, which appeared on pages [2951–2962][1] of the April 26, 2022 issue, the authors' affiliation information was omitted because of a

Studies have recently demonstrated that a caspase-2-mediated cleavage of human tau (htau) at asparate-314 (D314) is responsible for cognitive deficits and neurodegeneration in mice modeling frontotemporal dementia (FTD). However, these animal studies may be confounded by flaws in their model systems, such as endogenous functional gene disruption and inequivalent transgene expression. To avoid these weaknesses, we examined the pathogenic role of this site-specific htau cleavage in FTD using genetically matched htau targeted-insertion mouse lines: rT2 and rT3. Both male and female mice were included in this study. rT2 mice contain a single copy of the FTD-linked htau proline-to-leucine mutation at amino acid 301 (htau P301L), inserted into a neutral site to avoid dysregulation of host gene expression. The similarly constructed rT3 mice harbor an additional D314-to-glutamate (D314E) mutation that blocks htau cleavage. We demonstrate that htau transgene expression occurs primarily in the forebrain at similar l...

Stimulus-specific adaptation (SSA) is the reduction in responses to frequent stimuli (standards) that does not generalize to rare stimuli (deviants). We investigated the contribution of inhibition in auditory cortex to SSA using two-photon targeted cell-attached recordings and optogenetic manipulations in male mice. We characterized the responses of parvalbumin (PV)-, somatostatin (SST)-, and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP)-expressing interneurons of layer 2/3, and of serotonin receptor 5HT3a-expressing interneurons of layer 1. All populations showed early-onset SSA. Unexpectedly, the PV, SST, and VIP populations exhibited a substantial late component of evoked activity, often stronger for standard than for deviant stimuli. Optogenetic suppression of PV neurons facilitated pyramidal neuron responses substantially more (approximately ×10) for deviants than for standards. VIP suppression decreased responses of putative PV neurons, specifically for standard but not for deviant stimuli. Thus, the inhib...

The mechanistic Target of Rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway plays a major role in key cellular processes including metabolism and differentiation; however, the role of mTOR in microglia and its importance in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has remained largely uncharacterized. We report that selective loss of Tsc1 , a negative regulator of mTOR, in microglia in mice of both sexes, caused mTOR activation and upregulation of Trem2 with enhanced β-Amyloid clearance, reduced spine loss, and improved cognitive function in the 5XFAD AD mouse model. Combined loss of Tsc1 and Trem2 in microglia led to reduced β-Amyloid clearance and increased Aβ plaque burden revealing that Trem2 functions downstream of mTOR. Tsc1 mutant microglia showed increased phagocytosis with upregulation of CD68 and Lamp1 lysosomal proteins. In vitro studies using Tsc1 -deficient microglia revealed enhanced endocytosis of the lysosomal tracker indicator Green DND-26 suggesting increased lysosomal activity. Incubation of Tsc1 -deficient microglia ...

Photoreceptor degeneration leads to irreversible vision loss in humans with retinal dystrophies such as Retinitis Pigmentosa. Whereas photoreceptor loss is permanent in mammals, zebrafish possesses the ability to regenerate retinal neurons and restore visual function. Following acute damage, Müller glia (MG) re-enter the cell cycle and produce multipotent progenitors whose progeny differentiate into mature neurons. Both MG reprogramming and proliferation of retinal progenitor cells require reactive microglia and associated inflammatory signaling. Paradoxically, in zebrafish models of retinal degeneration, photoreceptor death does not induce the MG to reprogram and regenerate lost cells. Here, we used male and female zebrafish cep290 mutants to demonstrate that progressive cone degeneration generates an immune response but does not stimulate MG proliferation. Acute light damage triggered photoreceptor regeneration in cep290 mutants but cones were only restored to pre-lesion densities. Using irf8 mutant zebr...

During mammalian neocortex development, nascent pyramidal neurons migrate along radial glial cells and overtake earlier-born neurons to terminate at the front of the developing cortical plate (CP), leading to the outward expansion of the CP border. While much has been learned about the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie the migration of pyramidal neurons, how migrating neurons bypass the preceding neurons at the end of migration to reach their final positions remains poorly understood. Here, we report that Down syndrome cell adhesion molecule (DSCAM) is required for migrating neurons to bypass their post-migratory predecessors during the expansion of the upper cortical layers. DSCAM is a type I transmembrane cell adhesion molecule. It has been linked to Down syndrome through its location in the Down syndrome critical region of Chromosome 21 trisomy and to autism spectrum disorders through loss-of-function mutations. Ex vivo time-lapse imaging demonstrates that DSCAM is required for migrating n...

Brain enriched voltage-gated sodium channel (VGSC) Nav1.2 and Nav1.6 are critical for electrical signaling in the central nervous system. Previous studies have extensively characterized cell-type specific expression and electrophysiological properties of these two VGSCs and how their differences contribute to fine-tuning of neuronal excitability. However, due to lack of reliable labeling and imaging methods, the sub-cellular localization and dynamics of these homologous Nav1.2 and Nav1.6 channels remain understudied. To overcome this challenge, we combined genome editing, super-resolution and live-cell single molecule imaging to probe subcellular composition, relative abundances and trafficking dynamics of Nav1.2 and Nav1.6 in cultured mouse and rat neurons and in male and female mouse brain. We discovered a previously uncharacterized trafficking pathway that targets Nav1.2 to the distal axon of unmyelinated neurons. This pathway utilizes distinct signals residing in the intracellular loop 1 (ICL1) between...