Research articles

The authors show that structural connectivity, as measured by diffusion-weighted imaging, can predict functional activation to faces in the fusiform gyrus. The structure–function correspondence developed in one group of subjects outperformed two other predictive models and was able to predict activation in a second group of subjects.

This study demonstrates a direct role for synaptotagmin I in the endocytosis of synaptic vesicles that is distinct from its role in exocytosis. In addition, the authors find that either of the C2 domains of syt1 can act as a calcium sensor during endocytosis.

The mediodorsal thalamus links the medial prefrontal cortex and the amygdala in associative learning process in primates. Using mouse models, this study finds that the dual firing modes of mediodorsal thalamus neurons, tonic and bursting, have opposite effects on fear extinction.

The authors describe a new approach to glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) therapy using therapeutic stem cells encapsulated in biodegradable synthetic extracellular matrix in mouse models of human GBM resection.

The authors use computational modeling to design an optimized learning protocol that takes into account the precise timing of molecular signaling cascades that are necessary for synaptic facilitation. This study demonstrates how learning and memory can be enhanced by the coordination of biochemical mechanisms and training protocols.

This study shows a new molecular mechanism governing olfactory receptor neuron (ORN) subtype diversification from a shared precursor cell. Selection of ORNs in Drosophila is mediated by Notch signaling. Chromatin modifications directed to specific genes targeted by Notch modify the responses to this signal and diversify ORN identity and circuitry.

The authors report that Rhes, a striatal-specific protein, activates mTOR. Rhes-depleted mice showed reduced dyskinesia, but maintained motor improvement following L-DOPA treatment.

In the striatum, direct pathway and indirect pathway medium spiny neurons (MSNs) receive both cortical and thalamic projections in an intermingled fashion. This study shows that a known axonal repulsive cue system—semaphorin 3E and its receptor Plexin-D1—acts as a determinant of thalamostriatal synapse development, specifically for direct pathway MSNs where presynaptic axons express the ligand and the receptor signals in the postsynaptic MSN target.

Here, the authors show that chronic blockade of neuronal activity reduces the connectivity of recurrent CA3-CA3 neurons in the rodent hippocampus while the synaptic strength of the remaining recurrent connections increased approximately twofold. They also show that this homeostatic process is mediated by the changes in presynaptic release probability regulated by cyclin-dependent kinase 5.

This study describes a microinjection technique that allows for the acute manipulation of individual neural stem cells in organotypic slice cultures via direct delivery of biologically active molecules.

The authors show that in rodents, NRG1-induced activation of ErbB4 in parvalbumin-expressing inhibitory interneurons may serve as a critical endogenous negative-feedback mechanism to suppress limbic epileptogenesis.

The authors show that paired stimulation of thalamic and cortical auditory inputs to the lateral nucleus of the amygdala, with the interstimulus interval mimicking their activation in behaving animals during auditory fear conditioning, results in persistent potentiation of synaptic transmission in the cortico-amygdala pathway in rat brain slices.

Using a membrane-tethered, genetically encoded Ca²⁺ indicator, the authors describe a novel Ca²⁺ signal in hippocampal astrocytes. These 'spotty' Ca²⁺ signals were found to be mediated by astrocytic TRPA1 channels. Decreasing astrocyte resting Ca²⁺, regulated by TRPA1 channels, decreased interneuron inhibitory synapse efficacy by reducing GABA transport through GAT-3.

The activity of striatal cholinergic interneurons is known to match phasic dopaminergic response to reinforcing stimuli. Here, the authors use optogenetic techniques to stimulate cholinergic interneurons and measured the response of striatal spiny projection neurons, and reveal an indirect inhibitory circuit in the striatum.

In mouse models, the authors find that NRG1–ErbB4 signaling contributes to epilepsy through regulating the excitability of fast-spiking parvalbumin interneurons. ErbB4 expression was also reduced in human epileptogenic tissue.

The authors conduct direct measurements of parvalbumin concentration and paired recordings in rodent hippocampus and cerebellum and show that parvalbumin affects synaptic dynamics, exerting Ca²⁺-buffering effects only when expressed at high levels.

Xenopus retinal ganglion cells show a switch in sensitivity to the guidance cue Sema3A during development. In this study, the authors show that the timing of this switch is determined by a mechanism in which miR-124 regulates the expression of Neuropilin-1 through modulation of the transcription-repressing cofactor CoREST.

In cultured hippocampal neurons, the authors show that postsynaptic N-cadherin is important to control the basal release probability, and that β-catenin acts via a different trans-synaptic pathway to control the gain adjustment of release probability.

This study demonstrates that the cytosolic helicases RIG-I and MDA5 act to negatively regulate the expansion of the encephalitogenic T_H1 and T_H17 T cells via a mechanism that induces type I interferon production specifically in dendritic cells. Activating this pathway leads to decreased pathology in response to CNS autoimmunity.

This study reveals a novel function of the Rho GTPase-activating protein called α2-chimerin in cortical development, where acute knockdown of α2-chimerin caused neuronal migration deficit and cortical circuit malformation in the developing mouse brain. This developmental defect was also associated with an impairment of circuit development causing epileptic discharges in adult animals.