The behavioral interactions between adults and newborns are decisive for the fitness and the survival of offsprings across the animal kingdom. In laboratory mice, while virgin females display caregiving behaviors, virgin males are rather neglectful or aggressive towards pups. Despite the importance of these behavioral variations, the underlying neural mechanisms remain poorly understood. Brain regions encoding these behaviors may exhibit sex-dependent functional differences at baseline. Additionally, these structures might undergo sex-specific plasticity after adults interact with the offspring. Emerging evidence suggests sex-based differences in input connectivity, genetics and receptor expression of the epithalamic Lateral Habenula (LHb). Moreover, LHb neuronal activity is instrumental for adult-newborn interactions. However, whether LHb neuronal function varies between sexes and/or undergoes adaptations following interactions with pups has not been fully investigated. In this study, we used in vivo an...

Mitral and tufted cells in the olfactory bulb (OB) act as an input convergence hub and transmit information to higher olfactory areas. Since first characterized, they have been classed as distinct projection neurons based on size and location: laminarly-arranged mitral cells with a diameter larger than 20μm in the mitral layer (ML), and smaller tufted cells spread across both the ML and external plexiform layer (EPL). Recent in vivo work has shown that these neurons encode complementary olfactory information, akin to parallel channels in other sensory systems. Yet, many ex vivo studies still collapse them into a single class, mitral/tufted, when describing their physiological properties and impact on circuit function. Using immunohistochemistry and whole-cell patch clamp electrophysiology in fixed or acute slices from adult mice, we attempted to align in vivo and ex vivo data and test a soma size-based classifier of OB projection neurons using passive and intrinsic firing properties. We found that there is...

Phillip West is an assistant professor of microbial pathogenesis and immunology at the Texas A&M University Health Science Center. He led a breakout group at the 2016 Neurobiology of Disease Workshop, From Pediatric Encephalopathy to Alzheimer's: Linking Mitochondria to Neurological Diseases, and presented in 2017 follow-up webinar, Linking Mitochondria to Neurological Disease. Here, he shares what led him to this research path and why it excites him. As told to, and edited by, SfN staff.

Growth hormone (GH) is a neuromodulator that binds to receptors in the hippocampus and alters synaptic plasticity. Decline in GH levels is associated with normal ageing, stress and disease, and mechanisms proposed involve the hippocampal circuit plasticity. To see how GH affects the hippocampal neural code, we recorded single neurons in the CA1 region of male Long Evans rats with locally altered GH levels. Rats received injections of adeno-associated viruses into the hippocampus to make the cells overexpress either GH or an antagonizing mutated GH (aGH). Place cells were recorded in both familiar and novel environments to allow the assessment of pattern separation in the neural representations termed remapping. All the animals showed intact and stable place fields in the familiar environment. In the novel environment, aGH transfection increased the average firing rate, peak rate and the information density of the CA1 place fields. The tendency of global remapping increased in the GH animals compared to the...

The adrenal medulla is packed with chromaffin cells, modified postganglionic sympathetic neurons that secrete the catecholamines, epinephrine and norepinephrine, during the fight-or-flight response. Sometimes overlooked, is a population of immune cells that also resides within the gland but whose distribution and function is not clear. Here I examine the location of CD45+ hematopoietic cells in the mouse adrenal medulla and show the majority are F4/80+/Lyz2+ macrophages. These cells are present from early post-natal development and widely distributed. Anatomically they are associated with chromaffin cells, found aligned alongside synapsin-ir neuronal varicosities and juxtaposed to CD31-ir blood vessels. Using Lyz2cre-GCaMP6f mice to quantify calcium signaling in macrophages revealed these cells respond directly and indirectly to a wide variety of neuromodulators, including pre- and post-ganglionic transmitters and systemic hormones. Purinergic agonists, histamine, acetylcholine and bradykinin rapidly and r...

Transgenic mice provide unprecedented access to manipulate and visualize neural circuits, however, those on a C57BL/6 background develop progressive hearing loss, significantly confounding systems-level and behavioral analysis. While outbreeding can limit hearing loss, it introduces strain variability and complicates the generation of complex genotypes. Here, we propose an approach to preserve hearing by crossing transgenic mice with congenic B6.CAST- Cdh23Ahl+ mice, which maintain low-threshold hearing into adulthood. Widefield and two-photon imaging of the auditory cortex revealed that 2.5-month-old C57BL/6 mice exhibit elevated thresholds to high frequency tones and widespread cortical reorganization, with most neurons responding best to lower frequencies. In contrast, Ahl+ C57BL/6 mice exhibited robust neural responses across tested frequencies and sound levels (4-64 kHz, 30-90 dB SPL) and retained low thresholds into adulthood. Our approach offers a cost-effective solution for generating complex genot...

Material below is adapted from the SfN Short Course, Transcription Dysregulation of the PGC-1α Pathway in Huntington’s Disease Pathogenesis: From Metabolic Derangement to Neurodegeneration, by Albert R. La Spada, MD, PhD.

As Khan Ozol, the global head of talent scouting at Novartis, was completing his postdoc about cell transplantation and gene therapy for delivering trophic factors to the brain, he realized that he wanted to pursue a different path: an entrepreneurial career, but still focused on science.

This is Lesson Three in the Implicit Bias Video Series from BruinX, the research and development unit within the University of California, Los Angeles's Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. This video explores findings that implicit biases can influence our real world behavior.

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...