As the knowledge base in neuroscience continues to expand, educators need timely resources to engage their students. Educational Resources in Neuroscience (ERIN), a web portal developed by the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), is an invaluable tool to help undergraduate, graduate, and clinical education professors find state-of-the art resources. The database has a wealth of materials — all reviewed by experts in the field. Resources include videos, interactive quizzes, and simulators, which you can search by topic, type of resource, and educational level.

Imagine that every time you met someone new, the moment they left the room you forgot you had ever spoken to them, and when they returned it was as if you had never seen them before. Imagine remembering your childhood, your parents, the history you learned in school, but never being able to form a new long term memory after the age of 27.

Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is the most common focal epilepsy in adults, and people with TLE exhibit higher rates of reproductive endocrine dysfunction. Hypothalamic gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons regulate reproductive function in mammals by regulating gonadotropin secretion from the anterior pituitary. Previous research demonstrated GnRH neuron hyperexcitability in both sexes in the intrahippocampal kainic acid (IHKA) mouse model of TLE. Fast-inactivating A-type (IA) and delayed rectifier K-type (IK) K+ currents play critical roles in modulating neuronal excitability, including in GnRH neurons. Here, we tested the hypothesis that GnRH neuron hyperexcitability is associated with reduced IA and IK conductances. At two months after IHKA or control saline injection, when IHKA mice exhibit chronic epilepsy, we recorded GnRH neuron excitability, IA, and IK using whole-cell patch-clamp electrophysiology. GnRH neurons from both IHKA male and diestrous female GnRH-GFP mice exhibited hyperexcitabili...

Estrogens act through nuclear and membrane-initiated signaling. Estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) is critical for reproduction, but the relative contribution of its nuclear and membrane signaling to the central regulation of reproduction is unclear. To address this question, two complementary approaches were used: estetrol (E4) a natural estrogen acting as an agonist of nuclear ERs but as an antagonist of their membrane fraction and the C451A-ERα mouse lacking mERα. E4 dose-dependently blocks ovulation in female rats, but the central mechanism underlying this effect is unknown. To determine whether E4 acts centrally to control ovulation, its effect was tested on the positive feedback of estradiol (E2) on neural circuits underlying LH secretion. In ovariectomized females chronically exposed to a low dose of E2, estradiol benzoate (EB) alone or combined with progesterone (P) induced an increase in the number of kisspeptin (Kp) and gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons co-expressing Fos, as a marker of ne...

Here we test the Stochastic Dynamic Operator (SDO) as a new framework for describing physiological signal dynamics relative to spiking or stimulus events. The SDO is a natural extension of existing spike-triggered average (STA) or stimulus-triggered average techniques currently used in neural analysis. It extends the classic STA to cover state-dependent and probabilistic responses where STA may fail. In simulated data, SDO methods were more sensitive and specific than the STA for identifying state-dependent relationships. We have tested SDO analysis for interactions between electrophysiological recordings of spinal interneurons, single motor units, and aggregate muscle electromyograms (EMG) of major muscles in the spinal frog hindlimb. When predicting target signal behavior relative to spiking events, the SDO framework outperformed or matched classical spike-triggered averaging methods. SDO analysis permits more complicated spike-signal relationships to be captured, analyzed, and interpreted visually and i...

Relapse is one of the signature hallmarks of cocaine addiction, as the majority of addicts experience relapse at some point on their path to recovery. Unfortunately, current treatments have been lacking, highlighting the need for better understanding of the neurobiology of addiction toward the development of more effective therapies.

As I reflect on the career I’ve had so far, one of the things most important to me is that I’ve enjoyed what I’m doing. It has been a privilege to work in science and be able to ask questions for which you can’t imagine the answers. Along the way, I’ve found a key ingredient to a great career is surrounding yourself with positive people. Whether it’s family, colleagues, students, mentors, or sponsors, putting yourself in the right environment among supportive people can help you advance.

Meghana Rao, PhD, Consultant, Campbell Alliance, describes how she uses skills developed in the research lab in her career.

All postdoctoral experiences are unique. Still, I hope that my personal account of doing a postdoctoral position in the United States has some useful takeaways for others. Here’s what I think you should know.

Wendy Suzuki began her neuroscience career studying the hippocampus — specifically how patterns of electrical activity in the hippocampus allow us to form new long-term memories. Twenty years into her career, Suzuki switched her research focus to examine how exercise affects brain function, and how much and what kinds of exercise people need. Read this interview to learn about Suzuki’s journey and how your personal passions and curiosities factor into your career.